I :\I:\ GE S of America GUARDING DOOR COUNTY LIGHTHOUSES AND LIFE,SAVING STATIONS GUARDING DOOR COUNTY LlGI-ITHOUSES AND LIFE-SAVING STATIONS Pottawatomie Ltgbt Door County P1um111andLJfl-SaPings1anon hr::, CIA)• • \~ .v v lSc onsz n P/11m Island Range~~ 41 Pilot Island Ligbt Eagle Biii.ff Lig!J C/Jambm It/and Light<1 J Cana Island Ltgbt -Batlf!J} Harbor Ltft-SatJing Staho!l Old Batlf!J} Harbor Ligbt 'Batlf!}'} Harbor Range S t11t;geon B'!)' Canal Ltgbt •• -s111t;geon B'!J' Canal Ltft-SatJtng Statton 's111rgeon B'!J' Nortb Pierbead Ltgbt JVt I Door Cnunty, W isconsin is the peninsula which juts out of the state into Lake Michigan. The l 2 li ght srntions and 3 life-saving stations arc shown on this map. l tvl AG E S of America GUARDING DOOR COUNTY LIGHTHOUSES AND LIFE~SAVING STATIONS S tacy a nd Virginia Tho mas ~ ARCADIA Copyright ©2005 by Author's Name ISBN 0-7385-3423-4 Published by Arcadia Publishing Charleston SC, Chicago IL, Portsmouth NH, San Francisco CA Printed in Great Britain Library of Congress Catalog Card N umber: 2005923155 For all general information conrnct Arcadia Publishing ar.: Telephone 843-853-2070 Fax 843-853-0044 E-mai I sales@arcad iapu bl ish ing.com For customer service and orders: Toll-Free 1-888-3U-2665 Visit us on the internet at http://www.arcadiapublishing.com Dedicated to the men and 1women of the United States Coast Guard: past, present, and future. Semper Paratus CONTENTS Acknowledgments 6 Introduction 7 l. Door County, Wisconsin: History and Industry 9 2. United States Coast Guard: Overview and Units 15 3. Southern Lights: Dunlap Reef Range, Sturgeon Bay Canal and North Pierhead, and Sherwood Point 27 4. Northern Lights: Old Bailey's Harbor, Bailey's Harbor Range, Cana Island, and Eagle Bluff 47 5. Island Lights: Potta\vatomie, Pilot, Plum Range, and Chambers 63 6. Life~Sav in g Stations: Sturgeon Bay Canal, Bailey's Harbor, and PluITt Island 81 7. Current Efforts: Preservation and Tourism 117 Appendix: The Fresnel Lens 127 Select Bibliogrnphy 128 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Research is a unique mix of perseverance, luck, and the kindness of orhers. Our greatest ally in this endeavor has been [he Door County Maritime Museum & Lighthouse Preservation Society in Sturgeon Bay, W isconsin- specificall y June Larson, Doug Henderson, and Brian Kelsey who unselfi shly opened their archives nnd pmiently answered our unrelenring questions. Before rh is project, we had the pleasure of volunteering for their organi zation on numerous projects and have always thoroughly enjoyed working with [hem. W e also could nor have completed this project wi i:hout tht: assistance of hisro rians Ro berr Browning Jr. and C hris Havern of the United S tates C oast Guard llistori:=tn's O ffice in Washington, D.C. Borh were very generous with the ir time, resources, and expertise. Another grear fri t: nd to o ur cause was To m House who is the Flotilla Commander, Washington Island U.S. Coast Glmrd Auxil iary, and works at the Jackson Harbor Maritime Museum. Nor only did he chauffeur us around Washington Island, but he also dug out the museum fro m its snow-encomhed hiatus so chat we could conduct research. We are also extremely grnteful for the assistance of rhc following individuals: Chief Richard Hupf (Sturgeon Bay Ctmal Station), Tim Sweer (Friends of Rock Island), Nancy Emery and Jeanne Majeski (Door Counry Library), Karen Newbern (The Ridges Sanctuary), Ka ren Overbeck & Mary Wendt, Roy Lukes, Kevin Egan (Bai ley's I !arbor Yachr C lu b Rcson), Kathy Connor (The Eastman House ), Joyce G ardner (Pioneer Village), and Sall y Treichel (Door County Historical Sociery). O ur grncious editor at Are;1dia, Eli za beth Beachy, also deserves accolades for her supporr, mirth, and expertise. Fin <1 1l y, we would be nowhere without the lo\'e and encouragement of ou r fom il y and friends. 6 INTRODUCTION Even though the days of schooners and manned light stations have passed into histury, Door County still has an impressive amount of operating lighthouses and maritime traffic. We first became interested in the lights while using them to navigate around the peninsula aboard Coast Guard vessels. Both of us had also been involved in arduous Coast Guard lighthouse paincing projects in Manirowoc and Milwaukee. Then came the preoccupation with life-sav ing stat ions which grew out of o ld phorngraphs hanging at the Sturgeon Bay Canal Station where S tacy is si:ationed. We have tho roughly enjoyed the ensuing adven ture of unearthing dormant history and putting it into a f'() rmat to share with others. W e hope you find the swries behind the lighthouses and life-saving stations as enthralling as we have. Any discussion of lighthouses in Door Councy inevitably includes a count of lights. By our tally, the counry has had 12 light stations. The number could possibly go as high as 16 if ranges were counted as rwo separate lights, and even up to 18 if one includes Green Island and Peshtigo Reef which fe ll under Sherwo(ld Point's control in the 1930s. Modern lights, such as the S turgeon Bay Cmal Range, have not been included as they never required a keeper or incluclecl a dwelling. W e feel, however, that the number of 12 correctly reflects the true amount of historic lights. T he chapters arc broken up by geographic areas simply because we fou nd that the logical way to work ·with them. Range lights, mentioned above, were two lights used in tandem co guide mariners either into a harbor or through a passage. The rear range light would be positioned farther back and higher with a shorter front range light closer co an observer. When che lights were positioned over each other, the sailor knew he was safely in the channel. If the front range (lower) light appeared to either the left or ri ght of the rear range (higher) light, the sailor needed to adjust to get into the channel. Door. County had three historic ranges: Dunlap's Reef, Bailey's Harbor, and Plum island. Although each lighthouse in Door County is unique, they all followed a general progression. Early lights were lit with sperm oil from whales. When this became scarce, lard oil was adopted. Smoky and easily congealed in cold weather, lard oil was hard to work with. Eventually, kerosene, also called mineral oil, was instituted; it was very flammable, resulting in brick oil houses being built. Then acetylene gns was used at some stations year-round, and in others, just d uring the winter. Finally, electricir.y was brought to some lights as i:hey were automated. \Vhen the Lighthouse Service was assimilated into the Coast Guard in 1939, some keepers stayed on for a few years, but by 1950, all lights were either unmanned or manned by Coast Guard personnel. As this tome covers the lights and li fe-sav ing sracions before and after they became part of the U.S. Coast G\1l'!rd, some language in the captions may ;1ppear confusing. ln general, the terms used are time specific so that life-saving stations are cn lled Coast Guard stations after 1915 and their keepers bc.:come officers in charge. Most l ighchouse keepers had the choice l'.O remain civilian or become boatswa in's mates once the Lighthouse Service m<: rged with the Coast Guard in 1939. 7 To the best of our ;:ibi liry, we have checked various sources co limit any mim1kcs within this project. W e also stress rhat this is not ::i n all-inclusive history as each light WL1kl easil y fill its own book. Our goal was to bring to light the overall history of the lights and li fe -s:w ing srnrions through the included historical photogrnphs. We are always in.rcrested in learning more; please contact us at: swcyrthomas@hotma il.com. We had the opportunity to gather our resources from many d iffe rent organi:arinns which arc idenrified in captions by the following: BHYC R: Bailey's Harbor Yacht C lub Resort DCHSA: Door County Historical Society Archives DCL: Door County Library DCMM & LPS : Door County Mari time Museum & Lighthouse Preserv<lt io n Society FORI: Friends of Rock Island JHMM: Jackson Harbor Maritime Museum LGF: Lumbermi ll Gallery Framcry LOC: Library of Congress N ARA : U .S. N ational Archives & Reco rds Adminis1ra t ion NOAA: Narion c1l Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration RS: The Ridges Sanctuary USCG: United States Coast Guard W lA: W ashingcon Island A rc hive 8 One DOOR COUNTY, WISCONSIN HISTORY AND INDUSTRY It is an im/)Ortam public work , invulvinp; bHt a small p;rnnt of the /)ublic lands tu consummace a great public impro\/ement, which , when com/)leted will be hailed with jO)' and salisfaccion , not only by che greot lumber interesrs of Green Bay, bu.i by rhousands of shippers, capwins, seaman, and sliipoumers of 11te Upper Lakes. - Excerpt from a c. 1860s leaflet submitted to Congress in support of the Swrgeon Bay Ship Canal. Pictured here is a Door County map from the 1878 Historical Adas of \Ylisconsin. (Courtesy DCL.) 9 As a peninsula with man y islands, Door County has a strong maritime history by necessity. T he lack of roads during irs early history meant both people ::i nd goods were transported on the water. lt wasn't uncil the early 20th century with the advent of aucomobiles and quali ty roads that people began crave ling more by land, especially north of Sturgeon Bay.