Cana Island Lighthouse
Encyclopedia
The Cana Island lighthouse is a lighthouse
located just north of Baileys Harbor
in Door County
, Wisconsin
.
Currently used as an active navigational aid under the jurisdiction of the United States Coast Guard
and a museum, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1976, as reference #76000201. This lighthouse, along with the Baileys Harbor Range Lights
, was built to replace the Baileys Harbor Lighthouse
in 1869, and was first lit in 1870.
, but the brick of the tower deteriorated quickly because of storms and icy winters. In 1902, a steel cladding was added to the tower to protect it from further deterioration. The cost of the quarters, tower and cladding was $12,792.55.
The light itself is a third order Fresnel lens
that was made in France. It used to be fueled by lard
, later it was fueled by kerosene
, then by acetylene
, and now by electricity
. The round ball at the top is the vent that removed the smoke and soot from the oil lamp. Each night oil had to be carried to the top of the tower by the keeper or his assistant to keep the light fueled. When the light first became electric in 1945, it was by an engine driven, 2 kW generator
, and batteries that powered the 100 watt
, 32 volt
bulb. A powerline was finally installed in the 1960s, and the bulb was switched to a 110 volt, 200 watt bulb. Four bulbs are mounted in a rack that allows for the next bulb to light if the one before it burns out.
An octagon-shaped oil house, storage building and privy
are also located at the site. An oil tank had been in the woods to the south of the building and a pipe underground moved the oil to the building.
The lighthouse is located on the 8.7 acres (35,207.7 m²) Cana Island
connected to the mainland via a rocky channel. Depending on the lake level the channel can be covered with 1–2 feet of cold Lake Michigan water. Originally, only wood walkways on top of rocks and a little dirt covered the area around the buildings. But starting in 1900 top soil was hauled in by a crew of men with eight teams of horses and wagons and six weeks later they were ready to begin covering the area with grass. There is a Stone
sea wall on the east end of the island.
Before 1889, the first assistants were spouses or family members. Patrick Chambers was the first non-family member assistant. When electricity came to the island an assistant was no longer needed.
The tower is 89 feet (27.1 m) tall in all. 79 feet (24.1 m), 3 inches from ground level to focal plane of the light. The light is approximately 85 feet (25.9 m) above water level, and has a visual range of 18 miles (29 km). The Stone
foundation goes below ground 4 feet (1.2 m) and is set on bedrock. The tower is 4 feet (1.2 m), 8 inches thick at the base with the outer layer 24 inches (609.6 mm) thick with a 20 inches (508 mm) air space between it and the 12 inches (304.8 mm) inner layer of brick at the base. Ten feet from the top it narrows to a 16 inches (406.4 mm) thickness with a 4 inches (101.6 mm) airspace and 8 inches (203.2 mm) inner layer. There are 102 cast iron
steps in the circular staircase leading to the watch room.
October 15, 1880 a terrible storm called the Alpena Gale destroyed seven ships near this lighthouse, and on October 12, 1928, the freighter M.J. Bartelme went aground in the fog at this location after attempts to free the ship failed.
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 just north of Baileys Harbor
Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin
Baileys Harbor is a town in Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,003 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated community of Peninsula Center is located in the town...
in Door County
Door County, Wisconsin
Door County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 27,961. Its county seat is Sturgeon Bay. Door County is a popular vacation and tourist destination, especially for residents of Wisconsin and Illinois....
, 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...
.
Currently used as an active navigational aid under the jurisdiction of the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
and a museum, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1976, as reference #76000201. This lighthouse, along with the Baileys Harbor Range Lights
Baileys Harbor Range Lights
The Baileys Harbor Range Lights are a pair of lighthouses arranged in a range light configuration, located near Baileys Harbor in Door County, Wisconsin.-History:...
, was built to replace the Baileys Harbor Lighthouse
Baileys Harbor Lighthouse
The Baileys Harbor lighthouse is a lighthouse located near Baileys Harbor in Door County, Wisconsin.Replaced by the Baileys Harbor Range Lights and the Cana Island Lighthouse in 1869...
in 1869, and was first lit in 1870.
History
The keepers quarters, privy, and tower were the first buildings and were made of cream city brickCream City brick
Cream City brick is a cream or light yellow-colored brick made from a clay found around Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the Menomonee River Valley and on the western banks of Lake Michigan...
, but the brick of the tower deteriorated quickly because of storms and icy winters. In 1902, a steel cladding was added to the tower to protect it from further deterioration. The cost of the quarters, tower and cladding was $12,792.55.
The light itself is a third order Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
that was made in France. It used to be fueled by lard
Lard
Lard is pig fat in both its rendered and unrendered forms. Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a cooking fat or shortening, or as a spread similar to butter. Its use in contemporary cuisine has diminished because of health concerns posed by its saturated-fat content and its often negative...
, later it was fueled by kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
, then by acetylene
Acetylene
Acetylene is the chemical compound with the formula C2H2. It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in pure form and thus is usually handled as a solution.As an alkyne, acetylene is unsaturated because...
, and now by electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
. The round ball at the top is the vent that removed the smoke and soot from the oil lamp. Each night oil had to be carried to the top of the tower by the keeper or his assistant to keep the light fueled. When the light first became electric in 1945, it was by an engine driven, 2 kW generator
Electrical generator
In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
, and batteries that powered the 100 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
, 32 volt
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
bulb. A powerline was finally installed in the 1960s, and the bulb was switched to a 110 volt, 200 watt bulb. Four bulbs are mounted in a rack that allows for the next bulb to light if the one before it burns out.
An octagon-shaped oil house, storage building and privy
Outhouse
An outhouse is a small structure separate from a main building which often contained a simple toilet and may possibly also be used for housing animals and storage.- Terminology :...
are also located at the site. An oil tank had been in the woods to the south of the building and a pipe underground moved the oil to the building.
The lighthouse is located on the 8.7 acres (35,207.7 m²) Cana Island
Cana Island
Cana Island is an island in Lake Michigan in Door County, Wisconsin. The Cana Island Light is on the island. Cana Island is connected to the mainland by a causeway. Located at ....
connected to the mainland via a rocky channel. Depending on the lake level the channel can be covered with 1–2 feet of cold Lake Michigan water. Originally, only wood walkways on top of rocks and a little dirt covered the area around the buildings. But starting in 1900 top soil was hauled in by a crew of men with eight teams of horses and wagons and six weeks later they were ready to begin covering the area with grass. There is a Stone
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
sea wall on the east end of the island.
Before 1889, the first assistants were spouses or family members. Patrick Chambers was the first non-family member assistant. When electricity came to the island an assistant was no longer needed.
The tower is 89 feet (27.1 m) tall in all. 79 feet (24.1 m), 3 inches from ground level to focal plane of the light. The light is approximately 85 feet (25.9 m) above water level, and has a visual range of 18 miles (29 km). The Stone
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
foundation goes below ground 4 feet (1.2 m) and is set on bedrock. The tower is 4 feet (1.2 m), 8 inches thick at the base with the outer layer 24 inches (609.6 mm) thick with a 20 inches (508 mm) air space between it and the 12 inches (304.8 mm) inner layer of brick at the base. Ten feet from the top it narrows to a 16 inches (406.4 mm) thickness with a 4 inches (101.6 mm) airspace and 8 inches (203.2 mm) inner layer. There are 102 cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
steps in the circular staircase leading to the watch room.
October 15, 1880 a terrible storm called the Alpena Gale destroyed seven ships near this lighthouse, and on October 12, 1928, the freighter M.J. Bartelme went aground in the fog at this location after attempts to free the ship failed.
Keepers
- William Jackson 1869-1872 (first keeper)
- Julius Warren 1872-1875
- William Sanderson 1875-1891
- Jesse T. Brown 1891-1913
- Conrad A. Stram 1913-1918
- Oscar R. Knudsen 1918-1924
- Michael Drezdon 1941-1945
- Rosie and Louie Janda 1977-1995
Specialized Additional reading
- Havighurst, Walter (1943) The Long Ships Passing: The Story of the Great Lakes, Macmillan PublishersMacmillan PublishersMacmillan 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 0923568476; ISBN 978-0923568474.
- Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1-55046-399-3.