5/10/2009

This lighthouse was decommissioned in the early 1900’s and is now a year round bed & breakfast. Since it was on private property, I had to approach it from the shore of Lake Superior.

5/10/2009

With the discovery of the "Cliff Lode" in 1845 and the subsequent copper mining operations there, Eagle River became a booming port city and rivalled Copper Harbor as the biggest boom town in the Keweenaw. On September 28, 1850, the United States Congress 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.^[1]

The light was situated on a sand bluff overlooking Lake Superior on the west bank of the river. The tower was only 24 feet (7 m) high, but because of its location on a bluff, the sixth order Fresnel lens 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. The replacement light would not be built until 1917 and after at least ten vessels had been lost on the nearby Sawtooth Reef.

5/10/2009

Sand Hills is a formerly active lighthouse on the shore of Lake Superior converted into a bed and breakfast. It is located in Ahmeek in Keweenaw County Michigan in the Keweenaw Peninsula, which is the northern part of the Upper Peninsula. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

Eagle River Light was the only lighthouse between the Keweenaw Waterway and Eagle Harbor Light. With the end of the copper boom in the 1870’s the Eagle River, Michigan harbor started to decay. "By the 1890’s, it seemed the only ship coming into the harbor was the lighthouse service tender." It was recommended to build a new lighthouse at Sand Hills where most of the lake traffic was traveling and to decommission Eagle River.

Many years after the decommissioning of the Eagle River Light, Sand Hills Lighthouse was commissioned in 1917, as a response to a number of instances of ships that had run aground on the nearby "Sawtooth" reef — which lies just below the surface — in the previous few years. It is about halfway between Eagle Harbor Light and Ontonagon, Michigan.

The Lighthouse was completed in May 1919 and was in service for 20 years as a manned aid to navigation. complete with 3 keepers.

It is "the twin" of the ill-fated 1940 Scotch Cap Light on Alaska’s Unimak Island.In 1945, Anthony Petit was assigned the lighthouse keeper to the Scotch Cap Light heading up a five-man crew. All were killed on April 1, 1946 when a massive tsunami struck the station, destroying it. This was the worst disaster to ever befall a land-based Coast Guard light station. The United States Coast Guard has named a buoy tender USCGC Anthony Petit based in Ketchikan, Alaska in his honor.

The site includes an oil house, garage, barracks building (1916, and used in World War II, and a concrete breakwater (1917).

The station originally had a Fourth Order bulls eye lens lighted by an oil vapor lamp, which was visible for eleven miles.

In 1939, the Coast Guard assumed responsibility for the Lighthouse and automated its use, eliminating the need for keepers.

In 1942, it was converted to a wartime Coast Guard training facility, housing and schooling roughly 200 trainees at a time. In 1943 it was closed as a training location and reverted to being simply a lighthouse.

It continued as an active lighthouse until 1954, when it was decommissioned, in part due to improvements in weather forecasting and the adoption of radar.

It stayed empty and idle through the next few years, finally being liquidated and sold at public auction in 1958 for $26,000 to H. Donald Bliss, an insurance agent from the Detroit area.

In 1961, it was sold again to Bill Frabotta, a Detroit photographer and artist who used the fog station as a summer cottage. In 1992, Mr. Frabotta began a comprehensive 3 year rebuilding project, and along with his wife, Mary, converted the entire facility into a premier Bed and Breakfast Inn. Mary Frabotta plays the 106 year old parlor grand piano each evening for guests. It was selected by American Historic Inns as one of the ten most romantic inns in America" and rated in the top 15 Bed and Breakfasts with the Best Gourmet Breakfast by The Bed and Breakfast Journal.

In 2001 the fog signal building was restored.

5/10/2009

After a 4 hour drive I was disappointed to find I would be unable to get up close and personal with this lighthouse since it was under construction and blocked off. But, I was still going to document it.

The Ontonagon Lighthouse was owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers until an Act of Congress, signed by President Clinton, transferred the lighthouse to the Ontonagon Historical Society. The society officially obtained the land patent on August 6, 2003, and is working towards the restoration of the lighthouse. The fifth-order lens, formerly used in the lighthouse, can be seen at the society’s museum. 

5/10/2009

This was the first lighthouse on my trip. I’ve visited Canal Park many times in Duluth which is just on the other side of the Minnesota border, but this was my first time here. Beautiful lighthouse on a beautiful morning. I was happy to be the only one there and get these unobstructed shots.

The light and attached fog horn building sits within a 10-mile (16 km) long sand bar – stretching between the ports of Duluth and Superior. This sand bar makes the Duluth-Superior Harbor, one of the safest harbors in the world. It is reputedly the longest freshwater sand bar in the world and is split by this opening near its center, where the lighthouse is located. The Minnesota side of the opening is known as "Minnesota Point" and the Wisconsin side is known as "Wisconsin Point”. It is an active navigational aid and is known as the South Breakwater Light by the United States Coast Guard.

5/10/2009

Located at the western end of the Keweenaw Waterway which bisects the Keweenaw Peninsula.