The Cana Island lighthouse is a

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 ...

located just north of

Baileys Harbor The Town of Baileys Harbor is located in Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,003 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated community of Peninsula Center is located in the town. The census-designated place of Baileys Har ...

in Door County,

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 ...

, United States. Along with the

Baileys Harbor Range Lights 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. History The range lights replaced the Baileys Harbor Lighthouse in 1870 at ...

, the lighthouse was built to replace the Baileys Harbor Lighthouse in 1869 and was first lit in 1870. It is still used as an active navigational aid under the jurisdiction of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

, and was added to 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 1976. Since the 1970s, both the lighthouse and its keeper's quarters are open for visitors to tour by means of the

Door County Maritime Museum The Door County Maritime Museum is an American maritime museum located in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, with additional sites in Gills Rock, Wisconsin, and the Cana Island Light. History The museum was founded in Gills Rock, Wisconsin, in 1969 and bega ...

History

The keeper's quarters, privy, and tower were the first buildings and were made of

cream city brick Cream City brick is a cream or light yellow-colored brick made from a clay found around Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the Menomonee River Valley and on the western banks of Lake Michigan. These bricks were one of the most common building materials u ...

, but the brick of the tower deteriorated quickly because of storms and icy winters. In 1902, a steel cladding was added to the tower to protect it from further deterioration. The cost of the quarters, tower and cladding was $12,793. The light itself is a third order

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...

. It used to be fueled by

lard Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.Lard
entry in the o ...

, later it was fueled by

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...

, then by

acetylene Acetylene (systematic name: ethyne) is the chemical compound with the formula and structure . It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in its pure ...

, and now by

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

. The round ball at the top is the vent that removed the smoke and soot from the oil lamp. Each night oil had to be carried to the top of the tower by the keeper or his assistant to keep the light fueled. When the light first became electric in 1945, it was by an engine driven, 2 kW

generator Generator may refer to: * Signal generator, electronic devices that generate repeating or non-repeating electronic signals * Electric generator, a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. * Generator (circuit theory), an eleme ...

, and batteries that powered the 100

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

, 32

volt The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827). Defi ...

bulb. A powerline was finally installed in the 1960s, and the bulb was switched to a 110 volt, 200 watt bulb. Four bulbs are mounted in a rack that allows for the next bulb to light if the one before it burns out. An hexagon-shaped oil house, storage building and

privy Privy is an old-fashioned term for an outdoor toilet, often known as an outhouse and by many other names. Privy may also refer to: * Privy council, a body that advises the head of state * Privy mark, a small mark in the design of a coin * Privy Pur ...

are also located at the site. An oil tank had been in the woods to the south of the building and a pipe underground moved the oil to the building. The lighthouse is located on the

Cana Island Cana Island is an island in Lake Michigan in the town of Baileys Harbor in Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The Cana Island Light is on the east side of the island. It is possible to walk to Cana Island from the mainland over the tombol ...

connected to the mainland via a rocky channel. Depending on the lake level the channel can be covered with 1–3 feet of cold Lake Michigan water. Originally, only wood walkways on top of rocks and a little dirt covered the area around the buildings. But starting in 1900,

top soil Topsoil is the upper layer of soil. It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs. Description Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic matt ...

was hauled in by a crew of men with eight teams of horses and wagons. Six weeks later they were ready to begin covering the area with grass. There is a stone sea wall on the east end of the island. Before 1889, the first assistants were spouses or family members. Patrick Chambers was the first non-family member assistant. When electricity came to the island an assistant was no longer needed. The tower is tall in all. from ground level to focal plane of the light. The light is approximately above water level, and has a visual range of . The stone foundation goes below ground and is set on bedrock. The tower is thick at the base with the outer layer thick with a air space between it and the inner layer of brick at the base. Ten feet from the top it narrows to a thickness with a airspace and inner layer. There are 102

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

steps in the circular staircase leading to the watch room. On October 15, 1880 a terrible storm called the Big Blow of 1880 destroyed seven ships near this lighthouse, and on October 12, 1928, the freighter M.J. Bartelme went aground in the fog at this location after attempts to free the ship failed.

Keepers

*William Jackson 1869-1872 (first keeper) *Julius Warren 1872-1875 *William Sanderson 1875-1891 *Jesse T. Brown 1891-1913 *Conrad A. Stram 1913-1918 *Oscar R. Knudsen 1918-1924 *Michael Drezdon 1941-1945 *Rosie and Louie Janda 1977-1995

Gallery

References

External links

Cana Island Lighthouse
- Door County Maritime Museum

(Archived June 22, 2020)
Lighthouse friends article
(Archived June 12, 2012)
Video tour of Cana Island Light
* * * {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1869 Lighthouses in Door County, Wisconsin Lighthouse museums in Wisconsin Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin Museums in Door County, Wisconsin 1869 establishments in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Door County, Wisconsin

History

Keepers

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links