Wisconsin Lights - Baileys Harbor

Baileys Harbor Bird Cage lantern.
9/14/2019 dwm photo

The third lighthouse in Wisconsin had a short working life. 

Baileys Harbor light was built in 1852 on a small island to guide boats off Lake Michigan into a small harbor.

But the light wasn't designed to guide boats in the port; which lead to the light being replaced in 1869 with the Baileys Harbor Range Lights and a larger light on nearby Cana Island.

The island is privately owned.  While the shell of the "bird cage" style lantern is visible from the west, the closest view is at the end of small point of land that juts into the water.

High water on Lake Michigan nearly made it impossible to see.  In the photo at left, I was standing less than 12 inches away from the lake.  If I took a step to the right, a tree blocked my view.

The attraction of the light is that bird cage lantern.  It is one of just four lights in the United States with this design.

Baileys Harbor light sits on a small island - the old keepers
dwelling is said to be a home.  9/14/19 (dwm)

The Door County community got its name from Captain Justice Bailey who discovered it in 1848 the year Wisconsin became a state.  A storm forced him to seek shelter when he found an inlet not shown on his charts of Lake Michigan.

He reported the find to his boss, who explored it and realized it was full of valuable raw materials.  Instead of limestone and lumber, now the economy is based mostly on tourism.

The old Baileys Harbor light has seen it all.

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