Manitou Island Light Station
Undated USCG photo of the station | |
| |
Location | Manitou Island, Michigan |
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Coordinates | 47°25′11″N 87°35′14″W / 47.41972°N 87.58722°WCoordinates: 47°25′11″N 87°35′14″W / 47.41972°N 87.58722°W |
Year first constructed | 1850 |
Year first lit | 1862 |
Automated | 1978 |
Construction | Iron |
Tower shape | Skeletal with central column |
Markings / pattern | White |
Height | 42.5 feet (13.0 m) |
Original lens | Third order Fresnel lens |
Current lens | 12-volt solar powered 7.5-inch (190 mm) acrylic optic |
ARLHS number | USA-470 |
USCG number |
7-15170 |
Manitou Island Light Station | |
Nearest city | Copper Harbor, Michigan |
Built | 1861 |
MPS | U.S. Coast Guard Lighthouses and Light Stations on the Great Lakes TR |
NRHP Reference # | 84001773[1] |
Added to NRHP | July 19, 1984 |
The Manitou Island Light Station is a lighthouse located on Manitou Island, off the tip of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[1]
Description
The Manitou Island Light Station consists of a skeletal steel light tower with associated keeper's house,[2] outbuildings, and various walkways and foundations.[3] The tower base measures 26 feet (7.9 m) square at the base and is 17.5 feet (5.3 m) high.[2] The base supports a 42.5 feet (13.0 m) high skeletal tower, atop which is a cast iron ten-sided watch room and ten-sided lantern.[2] A circular staircase covered with iron and lined with wood provides access to the watchtower.[2] The original lens was a Third Order Fresnel Made by Le Paute of Paris and had six separate panels, each with a bull's eye prism.[2] The current lens is also a Third Order Fresnel, with four panels inscribed P. Barbier and Co., Paris.[2]
The keeper's house is a ten-room, two-story frame structure on a stone foundation.[3] It is sided with asbestos shingles (likely from the 1930s) and shingled with asphalt.[3] The interior still has some original doors and woodwork, but much of the wall material and flooring are modern additions.[3]
History
The first lighthouse on Manitou Island was a rubble-stone tower[3] built in 1850.[2] In 1861, the current replaced it; the keeper's house was built the same year.[2] In 1895, an oil house was added, in 1901 a boathouse, and in 1930 a concrete fog signal building was constructed, replacing the earlier one.[3] It is the oldest iron skeletal light tower on the Great Lakes.[2] The light was automated in 1978, and is still in use as a navigational aid.[4] In 2004, the Keweenaw Land Trust acquired the light from the United States Government, along with surrounding land,[3] under the auspices of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act.[5] The area is open to the public, and is available for camping, rock collecting, hiking, boating, sea kayaking, fishing, and sightseeing.[5]
References
- 1 2 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Manitou Island Light Station form the state of Michigan, retrieved 8/19/09
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 NATIONAL HISTORIC LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION ACT APPLICATION TO OBTAIN LIGHT STATION PROPERTY, Keweenaw Land Trust, Inc
- ↑ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Michigan". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Retrieved 8/19/09. Check date values in:
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(help) - 1 2 Manitou Island Light Station Preserve from the Keweenaw Land Trust, retrieved 8/19/09
External links
- Keweenaw Land Trust
- NATIONAL HISTORIC LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION ACT APPLICATION TO OBTAIN LIGHT STATION PROPERTY, Keweenaw Land Trust, Inc (includes multiple pictures, exterior and interior)
- Manitou Island Lighthouse from the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy