The Manitou Island Light Station is a lighthouse located on Manitou Island

Manitou Island (Lake Superior)

Manitou Island is a small island in Lake Superior, off the northeastern tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located approximately three miles from the mainland, it encompasses around . Manitou has seen limited impact from human activity, due to its remote location and the...

, off the tip of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

's Keweenaw Peninsula

Keweenaw Peninsula

The Keweenaw Peninsula is the northern-most part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States. As of the 2000 census, its population was roughly 43,200...

 in Lake Superior

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...

. It was listed on 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 1984.

Description

The Manitou Island Light Station consists of a skeletal steel light tower with associated keeper's house, outbuildings, and various walkways and foundations. The tower base measures 26 feet (7.9 m) square at the base and is 17.5 feet (5.3 m) high. The base supports a 42.5 feet (13 m) high skeletal tower, atop which is a cast iron ten-sided watch room and ten-sided lantern. A circular staircase covered with iron and lined with wood provides access to the watchtower. The original lens was a Third Order Fresnel Made by Le Paute of Paris and had six separate panels, each with a bull's eye prism. The current lens is also a Third Order Fresnel, with four panels inscribed P. Barbier and Co., Paris.

The keeper's house is a ten-room, two-story frame structure on a stone foundation. It is sided with asbestos shingles (likely from the 1930s) and shingled with asphalt. The interior still has some original doors and woodwork, but much of the wall material and flooring are modern additions.

History

The first lighthouse on Manitou Island was a rubble-stone tower built in 1850. In 1861, the current replaced it; the keeper's house was built the same year. In 1895, an oil house was added, in 1901 a boathouse, and in 1930 a concrete fog signal building was constructed, replacing the earlier one. It is the oldest iron skeletal light tower on the Great Lakes. The light was automated in 1978, and is still in use as a navigational aid. In 2004, the Keweenaw Land Trust acquired the light from the U.S. Government, along with surrounding land, under the auspices of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act

National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act

The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 is American legislation creating a process for the transfer of federally-owned lighthouses into private hands...

. The area is open to the public, and is available for camping

Camping

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...

, rock collecting

Rockhounding

Amateur geology is the recreational study and hobby of collecting rocks and mineral specimens from their natural environment.-Collecting:...

, hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

, boating

Boating

Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...

, sea kayaking, fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

, and sightseeing.

External links

• Keweenaw Land Trust
• NATIONAL HISTORIC LIGHTHOUSE PRESERVATION ACT APPLICATION TO OBTAIN LIGHT STATION PROPERTY, Keweenaw Land Trust, Inc (includes multiple pictures, exterior and interior)
• Manitou Island Lighthouse from the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy