Michigan Island Light Station: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, National Park Service

The Michigan Island Light Station landscape contains one of six light stations in Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, which is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Superior in Wisconsin. The light station cultural landscape, which occupies approximately two acres on the south shore of Michigan Island, is a collection of features that remain from its development as a light station over the last one hundred and fifty years. The Michigan Island Light Station consists of the Old Michigan Island Lighthouse, Second Tower, Keepers Quarters, Assistant Keepers Quarters/Workshop, Power House, Shed, and Privy No. 1. There are also a wooden staircase and boat dock, cement walkways, and an inclined tramway. The first structure was completed in autumn of 1856, and the signal began operation at the start of the 1857 navigation system. One of two remaining lighthouses that best represent the original building specifications, the structure was planned as a rubble stone conical tower and stands about 65 feet tall. It was taken out of service after one year of operation and abandoned until 1869, when the structure was refurbished and reoccupied. A second tower, built in Pennsylvania in 1880 and relocated to Michigan Island in 1919, is a metal skeletal tower with a cylindrical staircase. At 112 feet, this second tower is the tallest in the Apostle Islands. In 1943, the station was fully automated and the keeper position on the island was eliminated. The Michigan Island Light Station was included in a National Register of Historic Places listing of the Apostle Islands Lighthouses on March 8, 1977. The five lighthouses were listed with state level of significance in the areas of transportation and commerce and varying periods of significance spanning from 1852 to 1929. The nomination emphasizes the significance of the light stations under National Register Criterion A, identifying contributions to the understanding of the broad patterns of history related to navigation, shipping, and commerce both on Lake Superior and in the nation. Michigan Island Light Station, like other light stations in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, reflects the culture and lifestyle of light station keepers, changing technology associated with navigational aids, and transitions in architecture. The Michigan Island Light Station was the first Apostle Island lighthouse, marking the North and South Channels into La Pointe and Bayfield for westbound boat traffic. Additionally, light stations played a role in extending the authority of the Federal government into remote areas, achieved through both the physical structure and the presence of the keepers as government representatives. Overall, the Michigan Island Light Station landscape retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. Despite minor losses and lack of maintenance to cleared areas and ornamental plantings, the buildings and structures at the station generally retain a high degree of integrity and are integral components of the cultural landscape. Some changes related to the addition of buildings, structures, and other features have been necessary for the continual functioning of the site as a light station. Today, Michigan Island is operated by the National Park Service as part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The island continues to serve as an aid to navigation with an automated light tower and radio beacon maintained by the United States Coast Guard.

Michigan Island Light Station: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, National Park Service

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