Eagle Harbor Light is a working lighthouse located in Eagle Harbor, Keweenaw County, Michigan. It stands on the rocky entrance to Eagle Harbor and is one of several lighthouses that help guide boat captains on Lake Superior near the northern part of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The first lighthouse, built in 1851, was replaced in 1871 by the current red brick building. This structure is a Michigan State Historic Site and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
History
Edward Taylor was the first person to see the business value of Eagle Harbor. In 1844, he built a short wooden pier in the bay to help supply the growing number of miners in the area. A rocky ledge with only eight feet of water above it blocked the entrance to the harbor, making it hard for large ships to enter. However, during the copper boom, more ships visited the dock, and Taylor asked the federal government for money to improve the harbor entrance.
The original Eagle Harbor Light was built in 1851. It was a small stone building with a square wooden tower attached to one side of the roof. The tower had an octagonal wooden lantern with many glass panes and used Lewis lamps with reflectors. The lamps were 21 feet (6.4 meters) above the building’s foundation, and because the structure was on high ground, the lamps were 47 feet (14 meters) above the lake level.
By 1865, four different keepers had worked at the lighthouse. Two were removed from their positions, one resigned, and one died after only seven months on the job. The building was falling apart, so it was replaced in 1871 using a design that had been used for other lighthouses, such as the Chambers Island Lighthouse in Wisconsin and the McGulpin Point Light in 1868. This same design was later used at the White River Light in 1875 and the Sand Island Light in Wisconsin in 1881. The new lighthouse had an octagonal brick tower ten feet wide, with walls 12 inches (300 mm) thick. It included a 10-sided cast iron lantern. The lighthouse was staffed by one head keeper and two assistant keepers.
In 1999, the United States Congress gave ownership of the Eagle Harbor Light Station to the Keweenaw County Historical Society. The Coast Guard still operates the light at the top of the tower.
Museums
The Keweenaw County Historical Society operates the lighthouse as a museum and also operates other museums at the site, including the Maritime Museum in the old fog signal building, the Commercial Fishing Museum, the Keweenaw History Museum, and an exhibit on the 1926 shipwreck of the City of Bangor.