Eagle Harbor Lighthouse
Encyclopedia
Eagle Harbor Light is a lighthouse
near Eagle Harbor Township, Michigan
on the Keewenaw Peninsula jutting from the Michigan
's Upper Peninsula up into Lake Superior
. This area of Michigan is often referred to as Copper Country
, and sometimes as Copper Island
. That industry helped create interest in the harbor.
The original Eagle Harbor Light was built in 1851. The structure took the form of a rubble stone keeper’s dwelling with a square white-painted wooden tower integrated into one end of the roof. The tower was capped with an octagonal wooden lantern with multiple glass panes, and outfitted with an array of Lewis lamps with reflectors. With the lamps standing 21 feet (6.4 m) above the dwelling’s foundation, the building’s location on high ground placed the lamps at a focal plane of 47 feet (14.3 m) above lake level.
By 1865, a total of four new Keepers had worked at the station, with two of them removed from office, one resigning, and one passing away after only seven months at the station. The structure was deteriorating and was replaced in 1871 using a design that had previously been used for Chambers Island Lighthouse
in Wisconsin; and McGulpin Point Light
in 1868. It was thereafter used at White River Light in 1875; and Sand Island Light (Wisconsin) in 1881. The octagonal brick light tower is ten feet in diameter, with walls 12 inches (304.8 mm) thick and it supports a 10-sided cast iron lantern. The Lighthouse was manned by a head keeper and two assistant keepers.
In 1999 the Congress of the United States transferred ownership of the Eagle Harbor Light Station to the Keweenaw County Historical Society. The Coast Guard continues to operate the light at the top of the tower.
The Keweenaw County Historical Society operates the lighthouse as a museum, and also operates other museums at the site, including a maritime museum in the old fog signal building, a Keweenaw mining museum, a commercial fishing museum, a local history museum and an exhibit on the 1926 shipwreck of the City of Bangor.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
near Eagle Harbor Township, Michigan
Eagle Harbor Township, Michigan
Eagle Harbor Township is a civil township of Keweenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 281. The irregularly-shaped township is located on the Keweenaw Peninsula and also includes the southern half of Isle Royale...
on the Keewenaw Peninsula jutting from the Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
's Upper Peninsula up into Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
. This area of Michigan is often referred to as Copper Country
Copper Country
The Copper Country is an area in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States, including all of Keweenaw County, Michigan and most of Houghton, Baraga and Ontonagon counties. The area is so named as copper mining was prevalent there from 1845 until the late 1960s, with one mine ...
, and sometimes as Copper Island
Copper Island
Copper Island is a local name given to the northern part of the Keweenaw Peninsula , separated from the rest of the Keweenaw Peninsula by Portage Lake and the Keweenaw Waterway.- Geography :The area was "isolated" by dredging in 1859 and construction in the...
. That industry helped create interest in the harbor.
History
Edward Taylor was the first to realize the commercial potential of Eagle Harbor, building a short timber pier in the bay in 1844 from which to supply the growing number of miners in the area. A rocky ledge with only eight feet of water above it spread across the harbor entry, and represented a barrier to vessels of deep draft. However, the copper boom saw an increasing number of vessels visiting the dock, and Taylor began to lobby for federal funding for improving the entry into the harbor.The original Eagle Harbor Light was built in 1851. The structure took the form of a rubble stone keeper’s dwelling with a square white-painted wooden tower integrated into one end of the roof. The tower was capped with an octagonal wooden lantern with multiple glass panes, and outfitted with an array of Lewis lamps with reflectors. With the lamps standing 21 feet (6.4 m) above the dwelling’s foundation, the building’s location on high ground placed the lamps at a focal plane of 47 feet (14.3 m) above lake level.
By 1865, a total of four new Keepers had worked at the station, with two of them removed from office, one resigning, and one passing away after only seven months at the station. The structure was deteriorating and was replaced in 1871 using a design that had previously been used for Chambers Island Lighthouse
Chambers Island Lighthouse
The Chambers Island lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Chambers Island in Door County, Wisconsin.It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 as reference #75000063...
in Wisconsin; and McGulpin Point Light
McGulpin Point Light
McGulpin Point Light was constructed as a navigational aid through the Straits of Mackinac. The light began operation in 1869, making it one of the oldest surviving lighthouses in the Straits...
in 1868. It was thereafter used at White River Light in 1875; and Sand Island Light (Wisconsin) in 1881. The octagonal brick light tower is ten feet in diameter, with walls 12 inches (304.8 mm) thick and it supports a 10-sided cast iron lantern. The Lighthouse was manned by a head keeper and two assistant keepers.
In 1999 the Congress of the United States transferred ownership of the Eagle Harbor Light Station to the Keweenaw County Historical Society. The Coast Guard continues to operate the light at the top of the tower.
The Keweenaw County Historical Society operates the lighthouse as a museum, and also operates other museums at the site, including a maritime museum in the old fog signal building, a Keweenaw mining museum, a commercial fishing museum, a local history museum and an exhibit on the 1926 shipwreck of the City of Bangor.
External links
- Aerial photos, Eagle Harbor Lighthouse, marinas.com.
- Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses.
- Eagle Harbor home page, Exploring the North.
- Edin, Colt & Wobser, David, Eagle Harbor Light at boatnerd.com.
- Interactive map of lighthouses in central Lake Superior.
- Keweenaw County Historical Society - Eagle Harbor Lighthouse and Museums
- Lighthouse Central, Eagle Harbor light The Ultimate Guide to Upper Michigan Lighthouses by Jerry Roach. (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - 2007). ISBN 978-0-9747977-2-4.
- Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Eagle Harbor Light.
- National Park ServiceNational Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
*Maritime Heritage, Inventory of Historic Lighthouses, Eagle Harbor Light. - Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Eagle Harbor Light.
- Shipwreck Museum, at Whitefish Point Light.
- Youtube, Eagle Harbor Light.