Sturgeon Bay Canal Light, Sturgeon Bay, Door County, Wisconsin
Built in 1899.
STURGEON BAY CANAL LIGHT
Location: STURGEON BAY CANAL/LAKE MICHIGAN
Station Established: 1899
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1903
Operational? YES
Automated? YES
Deactivated: N/A
Foundation Materials: CONCRETE
Construction Materials: STEEL/IRON
Tower Shape: SKELETAL W/CONE
Markings/Pattern: WHITE W/BLACK LANTERN
Relationship to Other Structure: SEPARATE
Original Lens: SECOND ORDER, FRESNEL
HISTORICAL INFORMATION:
- Congress authorized construction of a light for the Sturgeon Bay canal in 1893 but construction was delayed until 1898.
- An experimental design was used on this light. The tower was a double walled steel cylinder that supported a watchroom and lantern.
- Construction was completed in 1899 but the structure vibrated so much that guy wires were attached in an attempt to stabilize it.
- In 1903 further attempts were made to stabilize the structure. An additional steel framework was built and took on the weight of the watchroom and lantern room.
- The light was automated in 1972.
- In 1980 the Sturgeon Bay Canal Light was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
- At some point the second order Fresnel lens was replaced by a third order lens.
Researched and written by Anne Puppa, a volunteer through the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society.