The Algoma Pierhead lighthouse is a lighthouse

Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

 located near Algoma

Algoma, Wisconsin

Algoma is a city in Kewaunee County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 3,357 at the 2000 census. Algoma is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

 in Kewaunee County

Kewaunee County, Wisconsin

Kewaunee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 20,187. Its county seat is Kewaunee. Kewaunee County is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:According to the U.S...

, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

.

The lighthouse was first established in 1893 as a set of range lights. It was rebuilt in 1908 at which time it was a conical tower built of 5/16 inch steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 plate, 8 feet (2.4 m) in diameter at the base and 7 feet (2.1 m) in diameter at the parapet

Parapet

A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...

. It stood 26 feet (7.9 m) high. In 1932 it was modified again and the entire structure was raised to a height of 42 feet (12.8 m) by placing the older tower on a new steel base 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter. The original lens has been replaced by a plastic lens.

It is called Algoma Light and listed as number 20975 in the USCG light lists.

Specialized additional reading

• Havighurst, Walter (1943) The Long Ships Passing: The Story of the Great Lakes, Macmillan Publishers
  Macmillan Publishers
  Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
  
  .
• Oleszewski, Wes, Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
• Sapulski, Wayne S., (2001) Lighthouses of Lake Michigan: Past and Present (Paperback) (Fowlerville: Wilderness Adventure Books) ISBN 0-923568-47-6; ISBN 978-0-923568-47-4.
• Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1-55046-399-3.

External links

• Anderson, Kraig, Lighthouse friends article
• Seeing the light
• National Park Service
  National Park Service
  The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
  
  Maritime Heritage Project, Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Wisconsin