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
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
.
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
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
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.
Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Eagle River Light.
/ref>
The light was situated on a sand bluff overlooking 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 the west bank of the river. The tower was only high, but because of its location on a bluff, the sixth 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 ...
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.
The Eagle River Lighthouse is available for rent on Homeaway.
See also
* Lighthouses in the United States
This is a list of lighthouses in the United States. The United States has had approximately a thousand lights as well as light towers, range lights, and pier head lights. Michigan has the most lights of any state with over 150 past and present l ...
References
Specialized Further reading
LaFave, Michael (Mackinac Center), ''Privatization Shines'' (article on the general subject of privatization of lighthouses).
External links
Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses.
Lighthouse Central, Eagle River light ''The Ultimate Guide to Upper Michigan Lighthouses'' by Jerry Roach. (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - 2007).
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Lighthouses completed in 1857
Houses completed in 1857
Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
Lighthouses in Keweenaw County, Michigan
National Register of Historic Places in Keweenaw County, Michigan
1857 establishments in Michigan