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

The Sand Island Light Station landscape is one of six light stations in Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, located along the western shore of Lake Superior in Bayfield County, Wisconsin. The light station occupies about four acres at the northeast tip of 2,949-acre Sand Island, near the western edge of the archipelago. The cultural landscape is a collection of features that remain from its development as a light station in this region, reflecting trends in development, technology, and lifestyle of the keepers. The light station consists of a sandstone keeper's dwelling with attached tower, a brick privy, and a brick oil house. The Sand Island Light Station was included in a National Register of Historic Places nomination of the Apostle Islands Lighthouses, listed on March 8, 1977. The nomination emphasizes the significance of the light stations under National Register Criterion A for their contributions to the understanding of the broad patterns of history related to navigation, shipping, and commerce, both regionally and nationally. The period of significance for the Sand Island Light Station begins in the year that construction began, 1880, and ends in 1978. The 44-foot, octagonal stone tower was built in response to a shift in shipping patterns, as larger vessels passed outside of the island cluster and necessitated the construction of lighthouses on the archipelago’s outer edges. The Sand Island Light Station was not as isolated as some of the other light stations in the Apostle Islands. During the period that the light station was occupied (1881-1921), the island was home to a permanent community of about 70 residents; primarily fishermen and farmers. The island also featured a school, post office, cooperative store, and -- briefly -- a telephone service to the mainland. A tourist site also operated here from 1886 through 1915. Sand Island became the first automated station in the Apostles in 1921 when the Lighthouse Service installed an acetylene burner, regulated by a valve controlled by the heat of sunlight. The keepers at nearby Raspberry Island continued to monitor the Sand Island light during a period of vacancy, although soon the quarters were annually leased as a summer residence. A 40-foot tall steel frame light tower was added in 1933; this was removed in 1985, and only its concrete footprint remains. Overall, the Sand Island Light Station landscape retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. There has been some deterioration to the structures and features, and vegetation has regrown into areas that were previously cleared. Today, the island is part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore operated by the National Park Service. Changes that have occurred to the landscape during NPS administration include construction of a staircase, re-grading the lawn, and the addition of maintenance and interpretive features. Overall, the buildings and structures at the station generally retain a high degree of integrity and are integral components of the cultural landscape. 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 (USCG).

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

Series