The Stannard Rock Light, completed in 1883, is a lighthouse located on a

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...

that was the most serious hazard to navigation 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 ...

. The exposed crib of the Stannard Rock Light is rated as one of the top ten engineering feats in the United States. It is from the nearest land, making it the most distant (from shore) lighthouse in the United States. It was one of the " stag stations", manned only by men, and had the nickname "The Loneliest Place in the World". The lighthouse was automated in 1962 and 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, mu ...

still maintains it as an active aid to navigation. It is closed to the public and can only be viewed by

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurat ...

. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

Stannard Rock Reef

The Stannard Rock Reef is located off Keweenaw Peninsula about south of Manitou Island and north of

Marquette, Michigan Marquette ( ) is a city in Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 20,629 at the 2020 United States Census, which makes it the largest city in the Upper Peninsula. Marquette serves as the seat of government of Marquett ...

. In 1835, Captain Charles C. Stannard of the vessel ''John Jacob Astor'' first discovered this underwater mountain that extends for with depths as shallow as and averaging . This reef was the most serious danger to navigation on Lake Superior and it was first marked by a day beacon in 1868, at which time tests were undertaken to determine if a light could survive in this harsh location, "atop a mile long reef" more than 50 miles northwest of Marquette. A temporary marker was placed at the location in 1866. The opening of 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 low ...

and the rapid increase in commerce between

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

, and the lower

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

demanded construction of a lighthouse. The lighthouse was named for Captain Stannard. The Stannard Rock Light is from the nearest land making it the most distant from shore of any lighthouse in the United States. Stannard Rock Reef provides a year-round structure for a superior

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also ...

fishery. Michigan's state record for lake trout, a specimen, was caught on line at Stannard Rock Reef by 16-year-old Lucas Lanczy on August 17, 1997.

Construction

Orlando Metcalfe Poe of the Lighthouse Board solved the logistics problem of constructing a lighthouse on the remote Stannard Rock by using the same process and all the apparatus and machinery used to build the tower and permanent protective crib of the

Spectacle Reef Light Spectacle Reef Light is a lighthouse east of the Straits of Mackinac and is located at the northern end of Lake Huron, Michigan. It was designed and built by Colonel Orlando Metcalfe Poe and Major Godfrey Weitzel, and was the most expensiv ...

on Lake Huron. The machinery included a steam and pulley operated

cement mixer A concrete mixer (often colloquially called a cement mixer) is a device that homogeneously combines cement, aggregate such as sand or gravel, and water to form concrete. A typical concrete mixer uses a revolving drum to mix the components. For ...

and a steam powered planing machine used to shape timbers. The brief season for work on the remote reef in Lake Superior lasted from May to October with many days lost to inclement weather. All of the machinery used to construct the Spectacle Reef Light was moved to the depot at Huron Bay on Lake Superior for construction of the crib for the Stannard Rock Light, which began in July 1877. Blocks of stone were cut at

Marblehead, Ohio Marblehead is a village in Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The population was 903 at the 2010 census. It sits at the tip of the Marblehead Peninsula, which divides Lake Erie proper from Sandusky Bay. Marblehead is part of the area that is ...

and shipped to the site for construction of the tower. The crib was taken out to Stannard Rock in August 1877, and soundings were made for fitting the crib to the reef. The crib was then returned to Huron Bay and built up to 14 courses; it was returned to Stannard Rock in August 1878 and placed in position on the reef. By October 1878 the crib was filled with concrete and stone from a

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

opened on Huron Island. By June 1879 an iron pier had been built up to the surface of the water. By mid-1880 the structure was above the water. The tower was completed and the first light was exhibited on July 4, 1882. Work on the tower continued until 1883. It took five years to complete the construction of the Stannard Rock Light at the cost of $305,000, (just $5,000 more than the original estimate) 126 tons of iron, 76 tons of brick, 1,270 tons of tower stone, and 7,276 tons of concrete were used in the lighthouse's construction. The exposed crib of the Stannard Rock Light is rated by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

as one of top ten engineering feats in the United States. It is said to be the farthest offshore of any lighthouse in the United States. "This is probably the most exposed of all Great Lakes lighthouses." The light output varied from 156,000 to 248,000

candlepower Candlepower (abbreviated as cp or CP) is a unit of measurement for luminous intensity. It expresses levels of light intensity relative to the light emitted by a candle of specific size and constituents. The historical candlepower is equal to 0.981 ...

over many years.

Lighthouse service

In early winter Lake Superior's waves splashing against the stone tower of the Stannard Rock Light built a layer of ice that forced maintenance crews to hack away the ice around the door to reach the men. If an illness, accident, or fire occurred at the Stannard Rock Light it could be days or even weeks before the keepers got assistance. As one of the rock lighthouses, it was designated as a "stag station" where only men could serve. The keepers called the Stannard Rock Light the "Loneliest Place in the World" and it has always carried the distinction of being the "loneliest place" in the continental United States. Maritime historian Wes Oleszewski reported that duty at the Stannard Rock Light was so rough that of the keepers and assistant keepers, there were four resignations and three transfers in the first three seasons of the station's operation. The lighthouse keepers were taken off the Stannard Rock at the close of shipping season in early December. The towers were locked until the keepers returned in March for the start of the shipping season. Landing at the Stannard Rock Light was difficult, but often the more serious problem at the start of the season was the need to take sledgehammers and pickaxes to clear away layers of thick ice ( deep) on the entry door, lantern, and foghorns. The Stannard Rock Light keepers operated the lantern and the living quarters with flammable illuminants for 60 years; the lighthouse was not electrified until after World War II. It was just a few years after this that an explosion of gasoline and propane tanks used to fuel the station plant destroyed the buildings on the pier and severely damaged the interior of the tower. The explosion killed one keeper and left three others stranded on the concrete pier at the base of the tower for three days before a passing ship discovered them and notified the Coast Guard. The men were rescued by the tender ''Woodrush''. After the accident, the Coast Guard repaired the fire damage, decided that the place was too remote and dangerous, and automated the station in 1962. The 1,400,000 candlepower light was replaced with a 3,000 candlepower light. The Coast Guard carefully disassembled the 2nd order, 12 bulls-eyed

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 ...

, hauled it down 141 tower stairs, packed it in six wooden crates, and then lowered the crates by block and tackle down to the crib for shipment. After a protracted search, the Fresnel lens was found 37 years later at the Coast Guard Academy's storage warehouse in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...

. The base unit for the lens was relocated from the tower to the museum in 2000. The lens is now on display at the Marquette Maritime Museum. ''See'', Marquette Harbor Light.

Double mission and current status

The Stannard Rock Light remains the property of the Coast Guard as an active aid to navigation. The lighthouse can only be viewed by airplane or boat and it is closed to the public. After more than a century of warning mariners away from the treacherous reef, the lighthouse was given a new mission in 2008 when scientists placed equipment atop the tower to measure whether increased evaporation was the cause of receding Great Lakes water levels. Boat trips out to the lighthouse are available, although visitors are not allowed to enter it. A team of amateur radio (ham) operators “activated” Stannard Rock Lighthouse as “W8L” during the U.S. National Lighthouse-Lightship Weekend, August 7–8, 2021.http://n8ppq.net/stannardrock/default.aspx

References

External links