Eagle River Light

Eagle River Light
Location	Eagle River
Coordinates	47°24′49.3″N88°17′53.8″W / 47.413694°N 88.298278°W
Tower
Constructed	1858
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places contributing property
Light
First lit	1884
Deactivated	1908
Lens	sixth order Fresnel lens
	Eagle River Light
	U.S. Historic district ; Contributing property
Part of	Eagle River Historic District (ID84001746 )
Designated CP	September 13, 1984

Last updated June 03, 2024

The Eagle River Light is a decommissioned lighthouse at the mouth of the Eagle River in the community of Eagle River on the Keweenaw Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan.

History

With the discovery of the "Cliff Lode" in 1845 and the subsequent copper mining operations there, Eagle River became a booming port city and rivaled Copper Harbor as the biggest boom town in the Keweenaw. On September 28, 1850, the United States Congress appropriated $6,500 to construct a light at Eagle River. A site was selected that year, but it took until 1853 for the Michigan Legislature to obtain title to the site. Construction was not completed until 1857.^[2]

The light was situated on a sand bluff overlooking Lake Superior on the west bank of the river. The tower was only 24 feet (7.3 m) high, but because of its location on a bluff, the sixth order Fresnel lens could be seen for a distance of ten nautical miles.

Cracks at the base of the station were documented in 1867, and the entire structure was said to be in danger of collapsing. Congress appropriated $14,000 in 1869 to build a replacement, but recalled the funds in 1870 due to a shortfall in the federal budget.

After copper in the Keweenaw area was commercially exhausted, the copper mining boom collapsed. The principal mine, the Cliff Mine, closed in 1873 and the Eagle River port became idle. Although the harbor quickly fell into disrepair, the light station continued to serve as the only marker of the shore between the Keweenaw Waterway and Eagle Harbor.

The station was renovated and partially rebuilt in 1884. By 1892, it was recommended that the light station be decommissioned and a new light be built a few miles to the east at Five Mile Point. In 1893, Congress authorized construction of the Sand Hills Lighthouse, but failed to appropriate any funds to carry out the construction. This situation continued for many years. The Eagle River Light Station was decommissioned in 1908 and its buildings were sold at auction in that year to John Vertin, a successful merchant from Calumet. The replacement light would not be built until 1917 and after at least ten vessels had been lost on the nearby Sawtooth Reef.

The Eagle River Lighthouse was sold by the Vertin family in the 1990s to Edward “Bud” Cole, a historic preservationist with a family lineage in the Keweenaw dating back to the 1850s. Along with the Eagle River Lighthouse, he also owns several other historically significant buildings in Eagle River and over 4000 acres of the Eagle River forestland corridor with 3 miles of Eagle River running through the property. Cole is also the owner of the Sandhills Lighthouse purchased in March 2019.^{[ citation needed ]}

The Eagle River Lighthouse is available for rent on Homeaway.

Related Research Articles

Keweenaw County is a county in the western Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 2,046, making it Michigan's least populous county. It is also the state's largest county by total area, including the waters of Lake Superior, as well as the state's northernmost county. The county seat is Eagle River.

Grant Township is a civil township of Keweenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 275 at the 2020 census. Grant Township is one of the most isolated municipalities in Michigan, as it forms the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, which projects into Lake Superior.

The Keweenaw Peninsula is the northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States, leading to its moniker of "Copper Country." Its major industries are now logging and tourism, as well as jobs related to Michigan Technological University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copper Country</span> Region in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, US

The Copper Country is an area in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States, including Keweenaw County, Michigan, Houghton, Baraga and Ontonagon counties as well as part of Marquette County. The area is so named as copper mining was prevalent there from 1845 until the late 1960s, with one mine continuing through 1995. In its heyday in the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, the area was the world's greatest producer of copper.

Copper Harbor is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in Keweenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located within Grant Township. The population of the CDP was 136 as of the 2020 census.

Eagle Harbor is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located on the north side of the Keweenaw Peninsula within Eagle Harbor Township, Keweenaw County in the U.S. State of Michigan. Its population was 69 as of the 2020 census. M-26 passes through this community. This hamlet was especially popular with the sailors in days past, as it had a good steamboat landing and is about equally distant from Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, and Duluth, Minnesota. It was the first stop for supplies for the many boats on Lake Superior.

The Keweenaw Waterway is a partly natural, partly artificial waterway which cuts across the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan; it separates Copper Island from the mainland. Parts of the waterway are variously known as the Keweenaw Waterway, Portage Canal, Portage Lake Canal, Portage River, Lily Pond, Torch Lake, and Portage Lake. The waterway connects to Lake Superior at its north and south entries, with sections known as Portage Lake and Torch Lake in between. The primary tributary to Portage Lake is the Sturgeon River.

Eagle River is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Keweenaw County. Its population was 65 at the 2020 census, which makes it by far the least-populated county seat in the state of Michigan. As an unincorporated community, Eagle River has no legal autonomy and is part of Allouez Township and Houghton Township.

The following is a list of Registered Historic Places in Keweenaw County, Michigan.
This National Park Service list is complete through NPS recent listings posted May 31, 2024.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eagle Harbor Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

Eagle Harbor Light is an operational lighthouse at Eagle Harbor, in Keweenaw County in the state of Michigan. It sits on the rocky entrance to Eagle Harbor and is one of several light stations that guide mariners on Lake Superior across the northern edge of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The original lighthouse, built in 1851, was replaced in 1871 by the present red brick structure, which is a Michigan State Historic Site and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Brockway Mountain Drive is an 8.8-mile-long (14.2 km) scenic roadway just west of Copper Harbor in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. Drivers can access the road from State Highway M-26 on either end near Eagle Harbor to the west or Copper Harbor to the east in the Keweenaw Peninsula. The drive runs along the ridge of Brockway Mountain on the Keweenaw Fault and climbs to 1,320 feet (402 m) above sea level, 720 feet (219 m) above the surface of Lake Superior. Several viewpoints along the route allow for panoramas of Copper Harbor, Lake Superior, and undeveloped woodland. On a clear day, Isle Royale is visible approximately 50 miles (80 km) in distance from the top of the mountain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sand Hills Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

Sand Hills was an active lighthouse on the shore of Lake Superior is on private property and is currently closed to the public. It is located in Ahmeek in Keweenaw County in the Keweenaw Peninsula, which is the northern part of the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

The Copper Harbor Light is a lighthouse located in the harbor of Copper Harbor, Michigan USA on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Upper Michigan inside Fort Wilkins Historic State Park. It is a Michigan State Historic Site and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Ontonagon Boulder is a 3,708 pounds (1,682 kg) boulder of native copper originally found in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States, and now in the possession of the Department of Mineral Sciences, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. In 1843 the boulder was purchased from a local entrepreneur and shipped to Washington D.C.

In Michigan, copper mining became an important industry in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its rise marked the start of copper mining as a major industry in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock Harbor Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Rock Harbor Lighthouse is a light station located in Rock Harbor on Isle Royale National Park, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gull Rock Light Station</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The Gull Rock Light Station is an active lighthouse located on Gull Rock, just west of Manitou Island, off the tip of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior. The light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, even as its condition deteriorated, resulting in its placement on the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List.

Huron Island Light is a lighthouse on Lake Superior near Big Bay, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Huron Islands Lighthouse in 1975. It is on one of the Huron Islands WildernessArchived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine.

References

↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
↑ Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Eagle River Light.

Specialized Further reading

LaFave, Michael (Mackinac Center), Privatization Shines (article on the general subject of privatization of lighthouses).

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.

[2] Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Eagle River Light.

[1]

[2]

v t e Lighthouses in Michigan
Main: List of lighthouses in the United States
Northern Upper Peninsula	Au Sable Big Bay Point Copper Harbor Copper Harbor Front Range Crisp Point Eagle Harbor Eagle Harbor Range Lights Eagle River Fourteen Mile Point Grand Island East Channel Grand Island Harbor Rear Range Grand Island North Grand Marais Range Lights Granite Island Gull Rock Huron Island Isle Royale Manitou Island Marquette Breakwater Outer Marquette Harbor Mendota (Bete Grise) Munising Front Range Munising Rear Range Ontonagon Ontonagon Harbor West Breakwater Portage River (Jacobsville) Passage Island Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light Rock Harbor Rock of Ages Sand Hills Sand Point Light (Baraga) St. Martin Island Stannard Rock Thunder Bay Island Whitefish Point
Southern Upper Peninsula	DeTour Reef Lansing Shoals Manistique East Breakwater Martin Reef Menominee Pier Minneapolis Shoal Naubinway Island Peninsula Point Poverty Island Sand Point Seul Choix Squaw Island St. Martin Island
St. Mary's River	Frying Pan Island Pipe Island Point Iroquois Round Island Light (St. Mary's River) Six Mile Point Range Rear Winter Point Range Front
Portage River/Ship Canal	Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Keweenaw Waterway Upper Entrance Portage Lake Rouleau Point Range Front and Rear Lights
Straits of Mackinac	Bois Blanc McGulpin Point Old Mackinac Point Round Island Round Island Passage St. Helena Island Wawatam
Western Lower Peninsula	Beaver Island Harbor Beaver Island Head Big Sable Point Cedar River Charlevoix Charlevoix South Pier Frankfort Frankfort South Range Grand Haven North Pierhead Grand Haven South Pierhead Entrance Grand Haven South Pierhead Inner Grand Traverse Grays Reef Holland Harbor Ile Aux Galets Little Sable Point Little Traverse Ludington Manistee Pierhead Manning Memorial Mission Point Mission Point (1933) Muskegon Breakwater Muskegon Pier North Manitou Shoal Pentwater North Pierhead Pentwater South Pierhead Point Betsie Portage Lake South Fox Island South Haven South Manitou Island St. Joseph North Pier Inner St. Joseph North Pier Outer Waugoshance White River White Shoal
Eastern Lower Peninsula	Alpena Caseville Harbor Charity Island Cheboygan Crib Cheboygan River Front Range Detroit River Fort Gratiot Forty Mile Point Fourteen Foot Shoal Gibraltar Gravelly Shoal Harbor Beach Lake St. Clair Mariners Memorial Middle Island Miller Memorial New Presque Isle Old Presque Isle Peche Island Rear Range Poe Reef Pointe aux Barques Port Austin Port Sanilac Saginaw Bay Saginaw River Rear Range Spectacle Reef St. Clair Flats Front and Rear Range Light Sturgeon Point Tawas Point Thunder Bay Island Tri-Centennial Light of Detroit William Livingstone Memorial Windmill Point
Historical (lost) lights	Au Sable North Pierhead Belle Isle Clinton River Ecorse Ecorse Range Rear Gibraltar Grassy Island Grassy Island North Channel Range Lights Grassy Island South Channel Range Lights Grosse Ile North Channel Range Lights Grosse Ile South Channel Range Lights Harwood Point East Range Front Kalamazoo River Mama Juda Mama Juda Range Front Manistee Main Middle Lake George Monroe Pier New Buffalo North Manitou Island Saginaw Bay Sand Beach North Entrance East Squaw Point St. Mary's River Lower Range Front Vidal Shoals Channel Range Front and Rear Lights Windmill Point Range Front and Rear Lights
Related	Lightship Huron List of lifesaving stations in Michigan Wixom Lake, Musselman Island lighthouse

v t e National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
Lists by county	Alcona Alger Allegan Alpena Antrim Arenac Baraga Barry Bay Benzie Berrien Branch Calhoun Cass Charlevoix Cheboygan Chippewa Clare Clinton Crawford Delta Dickinson Eaton Emmet Genesee Gladwin Gogebic Grand Traverse Gratiot Hillsdale Houghton Huron Ingham Ionia Iosco Iron Isabella Jackson Kalamazoo Kalkaska Kent Keweenaw Lake Lapeer Leelanau Lenawee Livingston Luce Mackinac Macomb Manistee Marquette Mason Mecosta Menominee Midland Missaukee Monroe Montcalm Montmorency Muskegon Newaygo Oakland Oceana Ogemaw Ontonagon Osceola Oscoda Otsego Ottawa Presque Isle Roscommon Saginaw Sanilac Schoolcraft Shiawassee St. Clair St. Joseph Tuscola Van Buren Washtenaw Wayne Detroit Wexford
Other lists	Bridges Historic districts Houses Michigan State Historic Sites (listings) National Historic Landmarks Properties of religious function Railway stations