North Manitou Island Life-Saving Station: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Regions 3, 4, & 5 Park Cultural Landscapes Program. 2010. North Manitou Island Life-Saving Station: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 500330. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. NPS Midwest Regional Office, Omaha, Nebraska / CRIS-CL Database
Inventory Unit Description: The North Manitou Island Life-Saving Station is located just off the coast of the northwest portion of the lower Michigan peninsula. It is sited on approximately three acres of land on the northeast side of North Manitou Island. Created to aid and assist travelers through the Manitou Passage, the North Manitou Island Life-Saving Station is the oldest among the three nearby stations. Its lifetime spans over 90 years and includes the beginning of the Volunteer era through the Coast Guard era. The life-saving station complex includes the following buildings and structures: the Hans Halseth House and Shed, the Volunteer Rescue Station, the storm tower and flag locker, the U.S. Lifeboat Station, the capstan, the U.S. Life-Saving Service Dwelling, the Crew Ready Room, the Generator Building, a flammable materials storage unit, a root cellar, the sea wall, the lookout tower abutments, sidewalks, a fire pump well, and the Lombardy poplars. Structures that are no longer extant include the blacksmith shop, two water closets, a fence line, windmill, water tower, a well, a walkway running from the Volunteer Rescue Station to the dock, the dock, and the boat ramp and tracks that ran from the station into Lake Michigan. These features were removed prior to the purchase of the complex by the Manitou Island Association. The period of significance for the life-saving station spans from 1854 to 1932, beginning with the construction of the Volunteer Life-Saving Station up until the final year the station was occupied by a crew. Throughout the duration of the life-saving station, its presence had a strong impact on the island and played a variety of roles in the surrounding community. With the inception of the U.S. Coast Guard, crewmembers and their families began to receive income from the government, thus bringing money into the island economy. The crew and their families also created a small agricultural market among local islanders. Aside from attending to their maritime duties, the crew also designated themselves as the local fire crew, assisted with first-aid and law enforcement, and also functioned as a communication link between the island and the outside world. As a result of this unique and broad span of historic maritime significance, the North Manitou Island Life-Saving Station was designated a National Historic Landmark on August 6, 1998.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Regions 3, 4, & 5 Park Cultural Landscapes Program
- Date of Issue
- 2010-09-13
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- MWR , SLBE
- Keywords
- capstan, Coast Guard, Coast Guard Facility, generator building, Great Lakes, Hans Halseth House and Shed, Lombardy poplars, Manitou Passage, maritime history, Michigan, National Historic Landmark, root cellar, seawall, sidewalks, transportation, U.S. Lifeboat Station, U.S. Life-Saving Service Dwelling, USLSS, Volunteer Rescue Station