The Pilot Island Light 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 near

Gills Rock Gills Rock is an unincorporated community located on Highway 42 at the northern tip of the Door Peninsula in Door County, Wisconsin, United States. It is within the town of Liberty Grove and was formerly known as Hedgehog Harbor. History This ...

, on Pilot Island at the east end of Death's Door passage, in

Door County Door County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,066. Its county seat is Sturgeon Bay. It is named after the strait between the Door Peninsula and Washington Island. The dange ...

, Wisconsin. The building's plant is similar to Pottawatomie Light, but is made of brick instead of stone. Until 1910 it was called Port des Morts Island Light. The light was converted to electric in 1942 and automated in 1962.

History

Frequent and oppressive

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...

made the passage hazardous, as well as making it an extremely lonely and forbidding place to work.Pilot Island Lighthouse
''Door County Maritime Museum'', (Archived February 5, 2012) A fog bell signal was installed in 1862. In 1864 it was replaced by a

foghorn A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. W ...

. In 1875 it was converted to a steam powered fog

siren Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology Places * Siren (town), Wisconsin * Siren, Wisco ...

. In 1880 a separate fog building was built for a "duplicate" fog siren. This began a steam whistle and new building in 1900 (which still exists near water's edge). In 1904, there came a realization that the whistles were "less than effective" and they were replaced by dual diaphones. The horns made living there difficult; fertilized eggs would be destroyed by the sounds. Due to the workload associated with the light and fog signal, the station was staffed by a keeper and two assistant keepers. This led to the conversion of an old fog signal building into housing for the second assistant keeper in 1901. It is one of ten lighthouses in Door County. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 as the Pilot Island Light, reference #83004279. National Park Service
NPS Maritime History Project, Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Wisconsin
(Archived February 7, 2007) The lighthouse is controlled by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge since 2007. The grounds, dwelling and tower are closed to public use. The lighthouse is currently "abandoned, overgrown, and overrun" by a large

cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...

population.

References

External links

* *

Plum Island Rear Range Light, (Archived February 7, 2007 * {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1858 Lighthouses in Door County, Wisconsin Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin 1858 establishments in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Door County, Wisconsin

History

References

Further reading

External links