Wisconsin Lights - Ashland

Before sunrise the light flashed every 6 seconds
on the Ashland Lighthouse. 5/15/2021 (dwm)

  Our first trip away from home after becoming 'fully vaccinated,' took us north to Ashland, Wisconsin to see its light perched at the end of a breakwater in Chequamegon Bay.

  More than a mile off-shore, I relied on my camera and its 700 millimeter lens stabilized on a tripod, to improve the pictures. I used the camera's timer so nothing was touching the camera body or tripod when the shot was snapped.

  Since Ashland was our destination, I was able to take pictures Friday afternoon and evening and again at sunrise.

The photo above right was taken at 5:44 AM.  Because I was using the camera's timer, I wasn't sure how to start the count-down to capture the light's flash, so I took a number of photos and hoped to get lucky.  The light shut-off minutes after the above picture was taken, so it was a very lucky shot.

The Ashland Lighthouse. 5/14/21 dwm photo

In the 21st century, Ashland is a tourist town with several light industries and Northland College as primary employers.  In the 19th and start of the 20th century, Ashland was a center of commerce as ships came take load iron ore, brownstone, and lumber to people and places further south.

The high school's nickname pays homage to its history and the large docks that were built out from shore to handle big ships.  They are the Ashland Oredockers.

The light went into service in 1915 and employed lightkeepers who lived onshore and boated to work according to the Lighthousefriends.com website.

Most of the iron ore was tapped out by the 1960s and none was shipped out of the bay after 1965.  The last lightkeeper left his station in 1962.  It's been automated ever since.

Remnants of the ore dock.  The lighthouse is above the
second pier from the right. 5/14/21 dwm photo

  The light gained historic status in 2012.  In 2015, it was transferred to the National Park Service and is considered the ninth lighthouse of the Apostle Islands.

  The name Chequamegon recognizes the many sand bars or strips of land extending into the water.

  The bay is part of Lake Superior, but guarded by a long spit that nearly seals off the bay.  

  That's where the Chequamegon Point and LaPointe Lighthouses stand, to see them I'll probably need a boat.