There are several historic

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

s on

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

on or near the

Apostle Islands The Apostle Islands are a group of 22 islands in Lake Superior, off the Bayfield Peninsula in northern Wisconsin. The majority of the islands are located in Ashland County—only Sand, York, Eagle, and Raspberry Islands are located in Ba ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. Six of these lighthouses, all in the

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is a U.S. national lakeshore consisting of 21 islands (Apostle Islands) and shoreline encompassing on the northern tip of Wisconsin on the shore of Lake Superior. It is known for its collection of historic ...

, were listed as a group on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1977 under the name Apostle Islands Lighthouses. The lighthouses are generally located at the edge of the group of islands, as beacons to guide shipping through and around the islands. The need for guidance increased in 1855 when the

Soo Locks The Soo Locks (sometimes spelled Sault Locks but pronounced "soo") are a set of parallel locks, operated and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, that enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lowe ...

opened, connecting Lake Superior to the

St. Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Americ ...

to the east. Shipping also increased as

Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places *Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lake ...

grew, and with the opening of Ashland's first

ore dock An ore dock is a large structure used for loading ore (typically from railway cars or ore jennies) onto ships, which then carry the ore to steelworks or to transshipment points. Most known ore docks were constructed near iron mines on the upper ...

in 1886. The Apostle Islands lighthouses are popular among tourists. Lighthouse historian Terry Pepper has described them as "one of the more interesting geographically centered collection of ighthousestructures" in the United States. Another lighthouse historian, F. Ross Holland, has called them "the largest and finest single collection of lighthouses in the country." The following lighthouses were included in the 1977 National Register listing: With *

Michigan Island Light 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. History Two historical lighthouses have served as the Michigan ...

house 1857 (Two lighthouses located at this site) * Raspberry Island Lighthouse 1862 *

Outer Island Light The Outer Island lighthouse is a lighthouse located on the northern tip of Outer Island, one of the Apostle Islands, in Lake Superior in Ashland County, Wisconsin, near the city of Bayfield. The light was designed by United States Lighthouse B ...

house 1874 * Sand Island Light 1881 * Devils Island Lighthouse 1891 Other lighthouses are in the area, but are not included in the Apostle Islands Lighthouses listing: *

La Pointe Light 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. Currently owned by the National Park Service and part of the Apostle Islands Nat ...

house and

Chequamegon Point Light 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. The Chequamegon Point light was maintained by the keeper of the L ...

house (listed together as the La Pointe Light Station, #83003366) * Ashland Harbor Breakwater Lighthouse - In the vicinity, but not technically in the Apostle Islands. * Gull Island Light, Gull Island Major restoration projects were initiated at several of the lighthouses of the Apostle Islands in 2013.

References

External links

NPS - Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Wisconsin
* * *

References

External links

Further reading