Long Tail Point Light
Encyclopedia
The Long Tail Point Light, also known as the Tail Point Light, was a lighthouse
in Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA. Long abandoned but still standing, it was succeeded by two further structures, both since destroyed.
, a lighthouse was constructed in 1848. The structure was built from fieldstone
collected at Bay Settlement on the opposite shore, and was originally lit with an array of oil lamps. These lamps were replaced with a Fresnel lens
in the 1850s, but soon the light was surrounded by water, and it was abandoned in 1859 in favor of a new house a short distance to the north. The new lighthouse was an integral frame dwelling with the old lantern placed on its roof; it employed a fourth order Fresnel lens. In 1899 the light's distance from the newly dredged channel prompted the construction of a third light, this time on a concrete pier resting on a wooden crib offshore; the fog bell was moved to the Sand Point Light
in Michigan. This new crib house was much smaller than the second house, and the keepers continued to live in the latter until automation of the light in 1936. A storm in 1973 washed this structure away and it was replaced by a skeleton tower.
The second house was sold to a private interest on the understanding that it would be moved; however, during the attempted relocation, the structure fell through the ice and was destroyed. The defunct first tower was given away in 1870, to be torn down. The tower's massive stone walls, however, defeated the new owner's attempts to destroy it, and the truncated tower still stands on the sandy spit.
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....
in Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA. Long abandoned but still standing, it was succeeded by two further structures, both since destroyed.
History
Long Tail Point is a sand bar lying at the southern end of the bay; as it lies adjacent to the channel into the city of Green BayGreen Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
, a lighthouse was constructed in 1848. The structure was built from fieldstone
Fieldstone
Fieldstone is a building construction material. Strictly speaking, it is stone collected from the surface of fields where it occurs naturally...
collected at Bay Settlement on the opposite shore, and was originally lit with an array of oil lamps. These lamps were replaced with a 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...
in the 1850s, but soon the light was surrounded by water, and it was abandoned in 1859 in favor of a new house a short distance to the north. The new lighthouse was an integral frame dwelling with the old lantern placed on its roof; it employed a fourth order Fresnel lens. In 1899 the light's distance from the newly dredged channel prompted the construction of a third light, this time on a concrete pier resting on a wooden crib offshore; the fog bell was moved to the Sand Point Light
Sand Point Light
The Sand Point Lighthouse is located in Escanaba, Michigan, United States, on Lake Michigan's northern shore. Since 1989, is has been an unofficial aid to navigation. Though it is an operational aid to navigation. The restored lighthouse is now open to the public during the summer months...
in Michigan. This new crib house was much smaller than the second house, and the keepers continued to live in the latter until automation of the light in 1936. A storm in 1973 washed this structure away and it was replaced by a skeleton tower.
The second house was sold to a private interest on the understanding that it would be moved; however, during the attempted relocation, the structure fell through the ice and was destroyed. The defunct first tower was given away in 1870, to be torn down. The tower's massive stone walls, however, defeated the new owner's attempts to destroy it, and the truncated tower still stands on the sandy spit.
External links
- Ruins of the first light from LighthouseFriends
- Photograph of the second light from the Wisconsin Historical Society