Pottawatomie Light

Last updated

Pottawatomie Light
Potawatomi lighthouse.jpg
Potawatomi Lighthouse 2004
Pottawatomie Light
LocationRock Island, Door County, Wisconsin
Coordinates 45°25′39″N86°49′41″W / 45.42750°N 86.82806°W / 45.42750; -86.82806 [1] [2]
Tower
Constructed1836  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
FoundationStone
Construction Limestone
Automated1966
Height41 feet (12 m) [3]
ShapeSquare, integral with keeper house [4]
Markingsnatural with black lantern
HeritageNational Register of Historic Places listed place  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Light
First lit1836
Deactivated1988
Focal height159 feet (48 m) [5]
Lens Fresnel lens
Range7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi) [1]
Characteristic Fl W 4s 159 Light is obscured from 275° to 020° by dense foliage [6]
Pottawatomie Lighthouse
Nearest city Washington Island, Wisconsin
Area2 acres (0.81 ha)
NRHP reference No. 79000074 [7]
Added to NRHPApril 20, 1979

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. [8]

Contents

History

The first lighthouse on the spot was a 1.5-story house and 30-foot (9.1 m) detached tower built in 1836. Due to poor construction, it was replaced by the existing lighthouse in 1858. The original tower and dwelling were demolished in subsequent years. The current building was first lit in 1858 and continued as an active aid to navigation until 1988, when it was replaced with a modern skeletal tower and automated system. [9]

It is the oldest light station in Door County, [10] which has the most lighthouses of any Wisconsin county. [11]

The lighthouse was restored by the Friends of Rock Island Lighthouse. [11] It is open for tours during the summer as the Pottawatomie Lighthouse Museum. The lighthouse has been restored to a state illustrating its appearance circa 1909–1913. The restoration was performed with the help from the non-profit Friends Of Rock Island State Park. [12] It now serves as a museum that is open for tours daily from Memorial Day to Columbus Day 10am to 4pm.

The lighthouse was listed as Pottawatomie Lighthouse in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, as reference #79000074. The fresnel lens, lost after the lighthouse was shut down in the late 1980s, was replaced by a plexiglass copy in 1999.

The original (1836) privy still stands on the grounds and is the oldest structure in Door County.

Related Research Articles

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

The Charlevoix South Pier Light Station is located on Lake Michigan at the entrance to Lake Charlevoix in Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan at the end of the south pier/breakwater of the channel leading to Round Lake in the city of Charlevoix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michigan Island Light</span> Lighthouse

The Michigan Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse operated by the National Park Service and located on Michigan Island on western Lake Superior in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Helena Island Light</span> Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

The buildings of the St Helena Light complex are the sole surviving structures on St. Helena Island, in Mackinac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The lighthouse on the St. Helena Island's southeastern point was built in 1872-1873 and went into operation in September 1873. It became one of a series of lighthouses that guided vessels through the Straits of Mackinac, past a dangerous shoal that extends from the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Pointe Light</span> Lighthouse

The La Pointe Light is a lighthouse located on Long Island, one of the Apostle Islands, in Lake Superior in Ashland County, Wisconsin, near the city of Bayfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chequamegon Point Light</span> Lighthouse

The Chequamegon Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Long Island, one of the Apostle Islands, in Lake Superior in Ashland County, Wisconsin, near the city of Bayfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devils Island Light</span> Lighthouse

The Devils Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Devils Island, one of the Apostle Islands, in Lake Superior in Ashland County, Wisconsin, near the city of Bayfield. Among the Apostle Islands lighthouses—a testament to its remoteness—it was the last built, and the last automated and unmanned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raspberry Island Light</span> Lighthouse

The Raspberry Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on the southern part of Raspberry Island, marking the west channel of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior in Bayfield County, Wisconsin, near the city of Bayfield. It was erected in 1862, marking the western channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashland Harbor Breakwater Light</span> Lighthouse

The Ashland Harbor Breakwater lighthouse, also known as Ashland Breakwater Lighthouse, is an operational lighthouse located near Ashland in Ashland County, Wisconsin, USA. Located in Chequamegon Bay of Lake Superior, it is owned and managed by the National Park Service, and is a part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. It sits at the end of a long and detached breakwater, which creates an artificial harbor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenosha Light</span> Lighthouse

Kenosha Light is a lighthouse and keeper's house on Simmons Island north of the channel into Kenosha's harbor in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baileys Harbor Range Lights</span>

The Baileys Harbor Range Lights are a pair of lighthouses arranged in a range light configuration, located near Baileys Harbor in Door County, Wisconsin, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cana Island Light</span> Lighthouse

The Cana Island lighthouse is a lighthouse located just north of Baileys Harbor in Door County, Wisconsin, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chambers Island Light</span> Lighthouse

The Chambers Island lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Chambers Island in Door County, Wisconsin. It was replaced in 1961 by a skeletal tower, visible for 12 nautical miles. The new light is identified by the USCG as 7-21895.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eagle Bluff Light</span> Lighthouse

The Eagle Bluff Light, also known as Eagle Bluff lighthouse, or simply Eagle Bluff, is a lighthouse located near Ephraim in Peninsula State Park in Door County, Wisconsin. Construction was authorized in 1866, but the lighthouse was not actually built until 1868 at a cost of $12,000. It was automated in 1926. Restoration work began on the Eagle Bluff Light in 1960 and was completed in 1963, upon completion the Lighthouse was opened for tours. The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plum Island Range Lights</span> Lighthouse

The Plum Island Range Lights are a pair of range lights located on Plum Island in Door County, Wisconsin. Plum Island was transferred to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 2007 and became part of the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Plum Island is seasonally open to the public for day-time use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pilot Island Light</span> Lighthouse in Wisconsin, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sturgeon Bay Canal Light</span> Lighthouse at the south entrance to the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, Wisconsin

The Sturgeon Bay Canal lighthouse is a lighthouse located at the Coast Guard station near Sturgeon Bay in Door County, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sturgeon Bay Canal North Pierhead Light</span> Lighthouse in Wisconsin, United States

The Sturgeon Bay Canal North Pierhead Light is a lighthouse located on Sturgeon Bay in Door County, Wisconsin.

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

Charity Island Light is a lighthouse on Big Charity Island in Lake Huron just off the coast of Au Gres, Northern Michigan.

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

The Sand Point Lighthouse is located in Escanaba, Michigan, United States, on Lake Michigan's northern shore. Since 1989, it has been an unofficial aid to navigation. Though it is an operational aid to navigation. The restored lighthouse is now open to the public during the summer months. It is also known as the Escanaba/Sand Point Light or the Escanaba Light.

References

  1. 1 2 Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2014.
  2. ↑ "Pottawatomie Lighthouse". Lighthouse Resources: Historic Lighthouses & Light Stations. United States Coast Guard. October 7, 2019.
  3. ↑ Pepper, Terry. "Database of Tower Heights". Seeing the Light. Terry Pepper. Archived from the original on September 18, 2000. Retrieved October 7, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Wisconsin". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017.
  5. ↑ Pepper, Terry. "Database of Focal Heights". Seeing the Light. Terry Pepper. Archived from the original on August 30, 2008. Retrieved October 7, 2009.
  6. ↑ Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.
  7. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  8. ↑ Karges, Steven (2000). Keepers of the Lights. Ellison Bay, WI: Wm Caxton Ltd. pp. 11–49. ISBN   0940473399.
  9. ↑ Wardius, Ken; Wardius, Barb (2000). Wisconsin Lighthouses: A Photographic & Historical Guide. Big Earth Publishing. pp. 60–61. ISBN   1-879483-60-2.
  10. ↑ "Door County Maritime Museum, Pottawatomie Lighthouse (Rock Island) history". Archived from the original on September 1, 2009. Retrieved October 7, 2009.
  11. 1 2 Wobser, David. "Pottawatomie (Rock Island) Light". Boatnerd . Archived from the original on August 7, 2019.
  12. ↑ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Eastern Wisconsin". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Further reading

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.