Manitou Island Light Station

Manitou Island Light Station, Manitou Island, off the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, Lake Superior, Michigan

Established in 1850.

MANITOU ISLAND LIGHT, MICHIGAN

KEWEENAW PENINSULA, LAKE SUPERIOR, NEAR COPPER HARBOR, MICHIGAN
Station Established: 1850
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1861
Operational? YES
Automated? 1978
Deactivated: N/A
Foundation Materials: DESTROYED BY EROSION
Construction Materials: IRON
Tower Shape: SKELETAL WITH CENTRAL COLUMN
Markings/Pattern: WHITE
Relationship to Other Structure: ATTACHED
Original Lens: THIRD ORDER FRESNEL

HISTORICAL INFORMATION:

• The first lighthouse on the eastern point of Manitou Island was a 60 foot rubble stone tower with an attached keeper’s quarters. The tower deteriorated at an alarming rate and had to be replaced just ten years later.
• The second lighthouse was an 80 foot iron skeletal tower built in 1861. The lighthouse is identical to Whitefish Point. The tower was fitted with a Third Order Fresnel lens, one of only nineteen on the Western Great Lakes.
• The original lighthouse tower and dwelling were in such disrepair, they were destroyed when the new structures were completed.
• The station was automated in 1978 and remains an active aid to navigation. The Keweenaw Land Trust now owns the property. The lighthouse is not open to the public but the grounds are.