Location | Gills Rock, Wisconsin |
---|---|
Coordinates | 45°17′3.067″N86°55′11.012″W / 45.28418528°N 86.91972556°W [1] [2] |
Tower | |
Constructed | 1858 |
Foundation | Concrete |
Construction | Milwaukee Cream City brick [3] |
Automated | 1962 |
Height | 41 feet (12 m) [4] |
Shape | Square |
Markings | yellow, black lantern and parapet |
Heritage | National Register of Historic Places listed place |
Light | |
First lit | 1858 |
Focal height | 48 feet (15 m) [5] |
Lens | Fourth order Fresnel lens |
Range | 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) [1] |
Characteristic | White, Flashing (2), 6 sec [1] |
Pilot Island Light | |
Nearest city | Gills Rock, Wisconsin |
Area | 3.5 acres (1.4 ha) |
NRHP reference No. | 83004279 [6] |
Added to NRHP | November 21, 1983 |
The Pilot Island Light is a lighthouse located near Gills Rock, on Pilot Island at the east end of Death's Door passage, in Door County, Wisconsin.
The building's design is similar to Pottawatomie Light on Rock Island (and many others), but is made of brick instead of stone. Until 1910 it was called Port des Morts Island Light. The light was converted to electric in 1942 and automated in 1962. [7]
The original Port des Morts Light was built on nearby Plum Island in 1849, but was closed and rebuilt on Pilot Island in 1858 to better mark the channel.
Frequent and oppressive fog made the passage hazardous, as well as making it an extremely lonely and forbidding place to work. [8] A fog bell signal was installed in 1862. In 1864 it was replaced by a foghorn. In 1875 it was converted to a steam powered fog siren. In 1880 a separate fog building was built for a "duplicate" fog siren. This began a 10-inch (250 mm) steam whistle and new building in 1900 (which still exists near water's edge). [9] In 1904, there came a realization that the whistles were "less than effective" and they were replaced by dual diaphones. [3] The horns made living there difficult; fertilized eggs would be destroyed by the sounds. [8]
Due to the workload associated with the light and fog signal, the station was staffed by a keeper and two assistant keepers. This led to the conversion of an old fog signal building into housing for the second assistant keeper in 1901. [7]
It is one of ten lighthouses in Door County. [10] It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 as the Pilot Island Light, reference #83004279. [11]
The island is controlled by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge since 2007. [12] The grounds, dwelling and tower are closed to public use. The lighthouse is currently "abandoned, overgrown, and overrun" by a large cormorant population. [13]
On October 17, 1892, the schooner JE Gilmore wrecked on the reef northwest of the island, very near to where the Forest had wrecked the year before. The crew remained aboard until a storm arrived on October 28, then abandoned ship. As the storm grew, the AP Nichols attempted to make the passage and was also driven onto the reef to join the Forest and JE Gilmore. Keeper Martin Knudsen ventured out onto the reef in the middle of the storm and was able to rescue the crew of six. For this, he was awarded a silver lifesaving medal from the US government and the Life Saving Benevolent Association of New York's gold medal. Partly as a result of this, a US Lifesaving station was built on neighboring Plum Island in 1895. [14]
Point Iroquois Light is a lighthouse on a Chippewa County bluff in the U.S. state of Michigan. Point Iroquois and its light mark the division line between Whitefish Bay and the western end of the St. Marys River, the connection between Lake Superior and other Great Lakes.
Pottawatomie Lighthouse, also known as the Rock Island Light, is a lighthouse in Rock Island State Park, on Rock Island in Door County, Wisconsin. Lit in 1836, it is the oldest light station in Wisconsin and on Lake Michigan. It was served by civilian light keepers from 1836 to 1946, at which point it was automated.
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The Baileys Harbor lighthouse is a lighthouse located near Baileys Harbor in Door County, Wisconsin.
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Wind Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse located at the north end of Racine Harbor in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is in the village of Wind Point, Wisconsin, on Lighthouse Road, next to the Shoop Park golf course. The lighthouse stands 108 feet (33 m) tall. One of the oldest and tallest active lighthouses on the Great Lakes, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
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The Milwaukee Breakwater lighthouse was built in 1926 in the harbor of Milwaukee in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin to mark the entrance to the harbor. One of the last fully enclosed breakwater lighthouses in the Great Lakes, the structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
The Michigan City Breakwater lighthouse is located in the harbor of Michigan City, Indiana.
The Old Michigan City Light is a decommissioned lighthouse located in the harbor of Michigan City, Indiana.
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