Lighthouse Series - The Lighthouses of Door County, Wisconsin

 “Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island
 looking for boats to save;

 they just stand there shining.”   
Anne Lamont 

Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Lighthouse

 

George & I at Cana Island Lighthouse
Door County Wisconsin

In 1999 my husband and I were at a Gift and Collectibles Show in Long Beach, California.  While there we decided to go to a presentation of Harbour Lights Lighthouses.  When we walked into the presentation we were each handed a door prize ticket.  It was a fun and informative session.  At the end of the presentation they gave out the door prizes.  I won a shirt with the Harbour Lights logo.  They also gave away quite a few of their lighthouses.  The grand prize was a trip for 2 to see the lighthouses of Door County, Wisconsin.  My husband won the trip, and of course, I got to go with him.  We had always liked lighthouses, we would stop and look at them when we came across them, but this trip actually gave us a whole new understanding of lighthouses, and we have developed a love for them.

Fresnel Lens

For centuries, early sailors were guided home by bonfires on hillsides.  Lighthouses are a natural progression from this time.  The first known permanent lighthouse was built in 285 BC on the Egyptian Island of Pharos, with an open fire as its light source.  In North America lighthouses began to play a prominent role with the colonies’ increased dependence on maritime trade with Europe. 

Perhaps the most significant development in lighting efficiency was the contribution of the Fresnel lens from France, which used the refracting properties of glass to intensify the light up to 1,600 fold.  Even today, with most lighthouses being automated with electricity, many of these Fresnel lens are still in operation.



Inside the Sand Point Lighthouse
in Escanaba, Michigan

Most lighthouses were in remote locations and the keepers and their families often lived in isolation and often dangerous conditions.  Many keepers were lost to the ravages of violent storms.  By the 1940’s almost all the lighthouses in Lake Michigan had been converted to electricity, and the last keeper left Sherwood Point Lighthouse in 1983.  Technological advances in radar and satellite diminished the need for lighthouses and many light stations have been abandoned.  Many have been restored by lighthouse societies, mariner museums or historical societies.  They have now become places that tourists visit.  But many beacons continue to guide vessels into safe harbors and warn mariners of hazardous shoals and reefs.  They are a testament to our maritime history and the lifestyle of a by-gone era.
 

Sand Point Lighthouse

Our trip was only 4 days in September, but included our airfare, a tour of the lighthouses with a group of lighthouse enthusiasts, hotel and all our meals.  This area of Wisconsin has 33 lighthouses, but we wouldn’t be touring all of them.

We flew to Green Bay, Wisconsin where we were met by the group and taken to our hotel in Green Bay for a welcome dinner with the group.  

 

After breakfast the next morning we were taken on a boat trip on Lake Michigan.  We saw several lighthouses that were out in the water, but we couldn’t stop at any of those, they were not open to visitors.  The lighthouses are no longer manned, they have all been automated and these were small lighthouses.  We landed in Escanaba, Michigan and we toured the Sand Point Lighthouse.  This lighthouse had a woman lighthouse keeper from 1868 to 1886.  Her name was Mary Terry.  We saw her living area and we were able to climb to the top of the lighthouse. 



After our boat trip we were taken to the Hotel Du Nord in Sisters Bay, Wisconsin.  The hotel overlooked Lake Michigan.  Sisters Bay is in Door County and is a small town, with some nice restaurants and shops. 

That evening we were taken to a restaurant for a fish boil dinner.  The fish boil dinner is famous in this area.  The fish is a mild white fish.  It is cooked outside over a fire.  A large pot is set directly on the flames.  Small potatoes and onions are boiled first and the fish is then dropped into the steaming kettle.  They then do a “boil over” and the flames shoot up in the air.  This is Wisconsin’s version of the New England clam bake.  The fish tasted somewhat like lobster to me.  It was delicious.

The next day we visited quite a few lighthouses.  We toured the Eagle Bluff  Station, Cana Island Lighthouse, Baileys Harbor Range Lighthouses, and the Sturgeon Bay Light Station.  We also visited the Door County Maritime Museum.

Eagle Bluff Station Lighthouse

Eagle Bluff Station was built in 1868  and sits high atop a limestone cliff in Penisula State Park.  It marks the passageway thru the east side of the Strawberry Channel on Green Bay.  When it was built the materials for it were barged to the foot of the bluff then hauled 33 feet to the top.  During its 58 years of being manned, this lighthouse had only three keepers.  It was automated in 1926, and the keeper’s house was abandoned at that time.  The Door County Historical Society, with help from the descendants of the former keepers, restored it and opened it to the public in 1963.  Guided tours are offered daily throughout the summer.

Cana Island Lighthouse is on one of the most picturesque settings on the Great Lakes.  It was built in 1870, but the original yellow brick tower was encased in steel plates in 1901 due to deterioration of the bricks.  The light continues to shine at Cana Island and the the lantern room still houses the almost five-foot original Fresnel lens.  It is vulnerable to the violent storms of Lake Michigan.  It has been recorded that huge waves have been known to break over the keeper’s house with spray splashing into the lantern room 80 feet in the air. (See Picture of Cana Island Lighthouse in first paragraph)

Upper Baileys Harbor Lighthouse

Baileys Harbor Range Lighthouses are actually 3 lighthouses.  The Old Baileys Harbor Lighthouse was built in 1852 and featured a “bird-cage” lantern a style which has few surviving examples, because it was extremely rare.  This lighthouse proved to be inadequate at protecting ships from the perilous shoals and reefs.  In 1869 The Baileys Harbor Upper Range and the Lower Range lighthouse were placed into service.  The taller Upper Range Light emitted a white light while the shorter Lower Range Light gave off a red light.  From several miles out on the lake, a ship could get “on range” simply by lining up these two lights.  By keeping the two lights lined up, safe entry into Baileys Harbor was secured.  In 1969 their lanterns were removed from service.
 

Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal
 North Pierhead Lighthouse

Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal North Pierhead Lighthouse was built in 1882 to mark the entrance to the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, which allowed them to avoid the often-dangerous passage thru “Death’s Door” located at the tip of the Door Peninsula.  It wasn’t long until they realized the need for a taller, more powerful light at this location, thus the 98 foot tall Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Lighthouse was constructed in 1899.  However, the metal cylinder design of this tower was unable to withstand the stress of strong lake winds so the structure had to be rebuilt in 1903. (See picture at top of page)  By special arrangement our group was able to climb the tall Sturgeon Bay Lighthouse tower and take in the spectacular view of Lake Michigan.

Our last day we visited Sherwood Point Light Station, the Algoma Pierhead Light Station and the Rawley Point Light Station.  We then visited the Manitowoc Maritime Museum and a World War II submarine. 

Sherwood Point Light Station

Sherwood Point Light Station is perched atop the rugged limestone cliffs at the confluence of Green Bay and Sturgeon Bay.  It was built in 1883, and had the distinction of being the last manned lighthouse on the Great Lakes.  Generally the grounds are not opened to the public, we had special permission to visit it.  It is used today as an R&R facility for members of the Coast Guard station.  The lighthouse is still functioning today.

Algoma Pierhead Light Station began operating in 1932 after it replaced a wooden tower light.   It is a red steel tower with a catwalk out to it. 

Rawley Point Light Station

Rawley Point Light Station warns passing ships of the dangerouse, mile-long shoal jutting out into Lake Michigan.  The original lighthouse built on this site was completed in 1874, but only the keeper’s residence remains from this brick structure.  The replacement tower was actually manufactured in France and exhibited at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.  It was then disassembled and towed on scows to Rawley Point and re-assembled.  The tower has two watchrooms, one on top of the other, which is very unusual.

At the end of this day we were transported back to Green Bay for our flight home.  It was an interesting trip, we learned about the lighthouses and their history.  We developed a great appreciation of the lighthouses and the many lives they saved by being there.  The charm, the traditions of lighthouses, the difficulties the early keepers had to endure, these qualities transcend time, and because of this trip, we have made it a point to visit lighthouses whenever the opportunity arises.  Over the years we have visited quite a few.  My next posting will be about some of the lighthouses we have visited here on the west coast.

Plum Island Lighthouse
One of the lighthouse we saw from our boat trip