Plum Island Range Lights
Encyclopedia
The Plum Island Range Lights are a pair of range lights
located on Plum Island
in Door County
, Wisconsin. They were part of the Plum Island United States Life-Saving Station
. Plum Island was transferred to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 2007 and became part of the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge
. The life-saving station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 2010. Plum Island is closed to the public to protect ground nesting migratory birds.
Plum Island is an island at the western shore of Lake Michigan
in the southern part of the town of Washington
in Door County
, Wisconsin
, USA. The uninhabited island has a land area of 1.179 km² or 117.87 ha
(0.455 sq mi, or 291.25 acres). There have been hundreds of shipwreck
s off the island's shores.
The Front and Rear Range Lights were part of the United States Life-Saving Station that was established on Plum Island in 1896. The lights were originally lit in 1897 and are 1650 feet (502.9 m) apart, aligned on a 330° bearing line to guide boats safely into the Porte des Morts Passage
. The Plum Island front range light was originally identical to the front range light of the Baileys Harbor Range Lights
, but was replaced by a modern skeletal light in 1964. The rear range light is the original tower and was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1984, as the Plum Island Range Rear Light, reference number #84003659. The front light is directional, aligned on 330.5 degrees true. The rear light is omnidirectional and still has its original 4th order Fresnel lens
.
Nearby Pilot Island and Plum Island were two of four Wisconsin properties turned over by the U.S. Coast Guard to the United States Bureau of Land Management. Large expenses for toxic waste
-site environmental remediation were an impediment to transfers and restoration of the Plum Island site. Both islands were finally transferred to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 2007 and became part of the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Significant numbers of nesting colonial birds are found on the islands.
The lighthouse keeper
's house and Coast Guard station were listed as being among Wisconsin's ten most endangered historic properties in April 2000. All of the maritime structures on Plum Island were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. The Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands, Inc. have partnered with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to restore the life-saving station on Plum Island. They accomplished lead paint abatement and repainting of the historic boathouse in the summer of 2010.
Leading lights
Leading lights are a pair of light beacons, used in navigation to indicate a safe passage for vessels entering a shallow or dangerous channel; and may also be used for position fixing. At night, the lights are a form of leading line that can be used for safe navigation...
located on Plum Island
Plum Island (Wisconsin)
Plum Island is an island at the western shore of Lake Michigan in the southern part of the town of Washington in Door County, Wisconsin, USA. The uninhabited island has a land area of 1.179 km² or 117.87 ha . The island is a bird sanctuary under control of the U.S. Coast Guard and will eventually...
in Door County
Door County, Wisconsin
Door County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 27,961. Its county seat is Sturgeon Bay. Door County is a popular vacation and tourist destination, especially for residents of Wisconsin and Illinois....
, Wisconsin. They were part of the Plum Island United States Life-Saving Station
United States Life-Saving Service
The United States Life-Saving Service was a United States government agency that grew out of private and local humanitarian efforts to save the lives of shipwrecked mariners and passengers...
. Plum Island was transferred to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 2007 and became part of the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge consists of Hog Island , Plum Island , and Pilot Island . The islands are located in Lake Michigan, near Washington Island, off the tip of Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula. An Executive Order in 1913 declared Hog Island a protected breeding ground for native birds....
. The life-saving station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2010. Plum Island is closed to the public to protect ground nesting migratory birds.
History
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
in the southern part of the town of Washington
Washington, Door County, Wisconsin
Washington is a town in northern Door County, Wisconsin, United States, with a population of 660 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated communities of Detroit Harbor and Washington are located in the town....
in Door County
Door County, Wisconsin
Door County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 27,961. Its county seat is Sturgeon Bay. Door County is a popular vacation and tourist destination, especially for residents of Wisconsin and Illinois....
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, USA. The uninhabited island has a land area of 1.179 km² or 117.87 ha
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
(0.455 sq mi, or 291.25 acres). There have been hundreds of shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
s off the island's shores.
The Front and Rear Range Lights were part of the United States Life-Saving Station that was established on Plum Island in 1896. The lights were originally lit in 1897 and are 1650 feet (502.9 m) apart, aligned on a 330° bearing line to guide boats safely into the Porte des Morts Passage
Porte des Morts
Porte des Morts, also known as Porte des Mortes, the Door of Death, and Death's Door is a strait linking Lake Michigan and Green Bay between the northern tip of the peninsula of Door County, Wisconsin and a group of islands historically known as the Potawatomi Islands and dominated by Washington...
. The Plum Island front range light was originally identical to the front range light of the Baileys Harbor Range Lights
Baileys Harbor Range Lights
The Baileys Harbor Range Lights are a pair of lighthouses arranged in a range light configuration, located near Baileys Harbor in Door County, Wisconsin.-History:...
, but was replaced by a modern skeletal light in 1964. The rear range light is the original tower and was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1984, as the Plum Island Range Rear Light, reference number #84003659. The front light is directional, aligned on 330.5 degrees true. The rear light is omnidirectional and still has its original 4th order Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
.
Nearby Pilot Island and Plum Island were two of four Wisconsin properties turned over by the U.S. Coast Guard to the United States Bureau of Land Management. Large expenses for toxic waste
Toxic waste
Toxic waste is waste material that can cause death or injury to living creatures. It spreads quite easily and can contaminate lakes and rivers. The term is often used interchangeably with “hazardous waste”, or discarded material that can pose a long-term risk to health or environment.Toxic waste...
-site environmental remediation were an impediment to transfers and restoration of the Plum Island site. Both islands were finally transferred to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 2007 and became part of the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Significant numbers of nesting colonial birds are found on the islands.
Lighthouse keeper
A lighthouse keeper is the person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Keepers were needed to trim the wicks, replenish fuel, wind clockworks and perform maintenance tasks such as cleaning...
's house and Coast Guard station were listed as being among Wisconsin's ten most endangered historic properties in April 2000. All of the maritime structures on Plum Island were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. The Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands, Inc. have partnered with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to restore the life-saving station on Plum Island. They accomplished lead paint abatement and repainting of the historic boathouse in the summer of 2010.
Getting there
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service closed Plum Island to public access to "ensure necessary protection of ground nesting migratory birds." The life-saving station can be seen at a distance from the Northport-Washington Island ferry. Shoreline Charters operates a boat tour operated out of Gills Rock that by goes past Plum Island for viewing and photography from mid-May through mid-October.Specialized additional reading
- Door County Museum, Plum Island Range Lights.
- Eckert, Jack, Life on Pilot Island in 1955.
- Havighurst, Walter (1943) The Long Ships Passing: The Story of the Great Lakes, Macmillan PublishersMacmillan PublishersMacmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
. - Oleszewski, Wes, Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
- Pepper, Terry, Seeing the Light, Plum Island Range lights.
- Robb, David, Recollections of Plum Island at Seeing the Light.
- Sapulski, Wayne S., (2001) Lighthouses of Lake Michigan: Past and Present (Paperback) (Fowlerville: Wilderness Adventure Books) ISBN 0923568476; ISBN 978-0923568474.
- Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1-55046-399-3.