The Manitou Island Light Station is a lighthouse located on Manitou Island, off the tip 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 ...

's Keweenaw Peninsula in

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 ...

. It was listed 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 ...

in 1984.

Description

The Manitou Island Light Station consists of a skeletal steel light tower with associated keeper's house,Manitou Island Light Station
form the state of Michigan, retrieved 8/19/09 outbuildings, and various walkways and foundations. The tower base measures square at the base and is high. The base supports a high skeletal tower, atop which is a cast iron ten-sided watch room and ten-sided lantern. A circular staircase covered with iron and lined with wood provides access to the watchtower. The original lens was a Third Order Fresnel Made by Le Paute of Paris and had six separate panels, each with a bull's eye prism. The current lens is also a Third Order Fresnel, with four panels inscribed P. Barbier and Co., Paris. The keeper's house is a ten-room, two-story frame structure on a stone foundation. It is sided with asbestos shingles (likely from the 1930s) and shingled with asphalt. The interior still has some original doors and woodwork, but much of the wall material and flooring are modern additions.

History

The first lighthouse on Manitou Island was a rubble-stone towerNATIONAL HISTORIC LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION ACT APPLICATION TO OBTAIN LIGHT STATION PROPERTY
Keweenaw Land Trust, Inc built in 1850. In 1861, the current light replaced it (one of three built that year with iron structure by the West Point Foundry in New York; the other two were De Tour Reef and Whitefish Point lights, the latter of which still stands and it and Manitou are the oldest iron skeletal light towers on the Great Lakes); the keeper's house was built the same year. A fog signal was added in 1871, and buildings to house it in 1875. These signals were refurbished in 1899. In 1895, an oil house was added, in 1901 a boathouse, and in 1930 a concrete fog signal building was constructed, replacing the earlier one. It is the oldest iron skeletal light tower on the Great Lakes. The light was automated in 1978, and is still in use as a navigational aid. In 2004, the Keweenaw Land Trust acquired the light from the United States Government, along with surrounding land, under the auspices of the

National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 (NHLPA; Public Law 106-355; 16 U.S.C. 470w-7) is American legislation creating a process for the transfer of federally owned lighthouses into private hands. It was created as an extension o ...

.Manitou Island Light Station Preserve
from the Keweenaw Land Trust, retrieved 8/19/09 The area is open to the public, and is available for

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...

, rock collecting,

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

, boating,

sea kayaking A sea kayak or touring kayak is a kayak developed for the sport of paddling on open waters of lakes, bays, and the ocean. Sea kayaks are seaworthy small boats with a covered deck and the ability to incorporate a spray deck. They trade off the ma ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, and sightseeing.

References

External links

Keweenaw Land TrustNATIONAL HISTORIC LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION ACT APPLICATION TO OBTAIN LIGHT STATION PROPERTY
Keweenaw Land Trust, Inc (includes multiple pictures, exterior and interior)

from the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1850 Lighthouses completed in 1861 Houses completed in 1861 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Lighthouses in Keweenaw County, Michigan 1850 establishments in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Keweenaw County, Michigan