Grand Marais USGS Lifesaving Station: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Regions 3, 4, & 5 Park Cultural Landscapes Program

[CLI Landscape Description:] Grand Marais USCG Lifesaving Station originated as both a lifesaving station and a light station in the 1880s. The site was established as one of a series of stations along a treacherous stretch of Lake Superior known as the “graveyard of the Lakes” due to the number of vessels and lives lost. During the early years of station development throughout Lake Superior, Grand Marais represented the single station along the ninety-eight mile stretch between Deer Park and Marquette. In the late 19th century the Great Lakes region experienced economic growth and Lake Superior became intensively used for transporting goods. The lake was difficult to navigate due to sudden and intense storms, forcing ships to hug the shorelines due to the limitations of early navigation systems and the frequent need to re-supply with fuel (generally, cordwood prior to the Civil War and coal after). The need for navigational aids was identified in the 1850s, particularly once the United States Army Corps of Engineers dredged a navigational access channel into Grand Marais Harbor authorized by the River and Harbor Act in 1880. This opened Grand Marais to increased lake traffic and assisted in the growth of the region’s ore and lumber industries. Grand Marais was developed as a lifesaving station and light station through the work of two sister agencies—the U. S. Lighthouse Board and the United States Life-Saving Service (USLSS). Development began in 1900 when the United States Life-Saving Service (USLSS) built a lifesaving station. The building, structures and site were oriented toward Grand Marais Harbor’s West Bay as it enabled boats to be launched directly into the protected harbor during storms. The station dwelling was sited with clear sight lines from the watchtower to the channel, lake, and harbor with boat storage and living quarters under one roof. Soon afterwards, the United States Lighthouse Board built a beacon tower, light, bell, and light keeper’s dwelling on the outer end, and along a strip of land, along West Pier. The building and lights were set with clear sight lines to the Navigational Channel. Staffing needs increased for the USLSS by the 1930s requiring an expanded facility. The station was designed and organized as a complex of separate buildings and spaces that provided specific functions—administration, living quarters, boathouses, garages, equipment sheds, and other purposes— essential for the efficient functionality of the station. Buildings and structures were connected visually and physically by walkways and a central loop road. The role of actively staffed lifesaving light and lifesaving stations on Lake Superior began diminishing in the 1960s. By 1966 Grand Marais Station was one of only a few stations in operation. The USCG continued to invest in the study area through navigational upgrades, building repairs, and utility and infrastructure modifications. Many outbuildings and structures were removed sometime after 1966. The study area is significant (under NRHP’s Criterion A, at the local level) for its association with the history of lighthouse and life saving activities on Lake Superior. It is also significant (under NRHP’s Criterion C) for embodying the distinctive characteristics of light station and United States Coast Guard station design from the late nineteenth century to the 1930s. The Inner and Outer Lights are listed in the NRHP (Criterion A and C) for their role as navigational aids embodying and exemplifying skeletal tower lighthouses of the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century.

Grand Marais USGS Lifesaving Station: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

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