The Chequamegon Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Long Island, one of the Apostle Islands, in Lake Superior in Ashland County, Wisconsin, near the city of Bayfield.[3]
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| Location | Long Island, Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 46°43′42.55″N 90°48′33.38″W / 46.7284861°N 90.8092722°W[1] |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1896  |
| Foundation | Originally on a concrete pier |
| Construction | Iron |
| Automated | 1964 |
| Height | 35 feet (11 m) |
| Shape | White skeletal |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1896 |
| Focal height | 42 feet (13 m)[2] |
| Lens | Fourth order Fresnel lens |
| Range | 7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi)[1] |
| Characteristic |  Fl G 4s |
The Chequamegon Point light was maintained by the keeper of the La Pointe Light (about a mile away) and its original lens came from there. A boardwalk connected them, so light keepers could ride bicycles between the lights.[4] It is currently owned by the National Park Service and part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
The lighthouse was moved back on to the shoreline after it was replaced by a modern D9 cylindrical tower (a "sewer pipe" with light and fog signal) constructed in 1986.[4]
In 1868 the original was established on Long Island's western end, marking the entrance to Chequamegon Bay and with it the towns of Washburn and Ashland.[4]
In 1896, it was replaced by a square, white steel room sitting on steel legs. The room is topped by an octagonal lantern with a red roof. The concept echoes that of Lake Huron's Alpena Light.[4] There are also skeletal towers of various other designs in the western Great Lakes.[5]
In 1986, the Coast Guard moved the light back from the shore, where it was threatened by erosion.Access is by walking from the dock at the La Pointe station along the beach.
References
Further reading
- Havighurst, Walter (1943) The Long Ships Passing: The Story of the Great Lakes, Macmillan Publishers.
- Merkel, James, Long Island Light, The Overlooked Light of the Apostles (March, 2000) pp. 19-21. Archived 2011-06-14 at the Wayback Machine Lighthouse Digest.
- Oleszewski, Wes, Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
- Pepper, Terry. "Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes". Archived from the original on 2008-01-30.
- Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1-55046-399-3.
External links
- Chequamegon Point Light on the World List of Lights
- Lighthouse friends article
- NPS Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Wisconsin Archived 2006-02-09 at the Wayback Machine
- Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Northern Wisconsin". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Wisconsin". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
- Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. - Current D9 light is listed
- Wobser, David, Chequamegon Point Light, from an article that originally appeared in Great Laker Magazine Archived 2009-10-31 at the Wayback Machine at boatnerd.com.