Split Rock

The lighthouse on Split Rock above Lake Superior.  8/25/2021 dwm photo

Our first lighthouse visit was in 2013 to Cana Island in Door County, Wisconsin.  That ranked as our favorite out of the 90 we visited... until August 25.

The Split Rock Lighthouse now tops the list.  

The North Shoreline, lighthouse, and Lake
Superior. 8/25/2021 (dwm)

 Our first look came a quarter-mile before the entrance to the state park where it's located at a scenic overlook (photo left).

 After entering the park we made our way down to Pebble beach closer to water level where I enjoyed the vantage point for the picture at the top of the blog.

 The beach is appropriately named as it is covered with tens of thousands of small rocks and pebbles which have been washed smooth over time.  

Split Rock Lighthouse. 8/25/21 (dwm)

The circumstance that lead to this light built on the cliff was a November storm in 1905 that wrecked 30 ships.  After Congressional approval crews began their work.  It began its work in 1910.

A lightkeeper and two assistants ran the light from May to December.  Early on their families visited for short times in the summer because of harsh conditions and the lack of transportation (a road wasn't built until 1924).

Homes for keepers and
their families. 8/25/21 (dwm)

 Unlike most of the lights we've seen on the Great Lakes, it is worth noting the solid brick construction of the lighthouse, fog horn building, oil house, and keeper lodging.

 When the road (today's Minnesota 61) opened, keepers and their families lived onsite year-round.  One amusing note on the tour was that kids' rooms were required to be as neat and orderly as anything else on the campus, if not their keeper father was given a demerit.

The light was fueled by incandescent oil vapor until electricity arrived at Split Rock in 1940.  At that point the sturdy oil house was changed from fuel storage to a shed for a back-up generator and general supplies.

Foghorn building near right.
8/25/21 (dwm)

The Lighthouse was decommissioned in 1969 and it became part of the surrounding state park in 1971.  The state historical society took over the light in 1976 and runs it today.  If you visit you do not need to pay for an admission sticker to the park if only visiting the light which charges $12 per adult admission.  If, like me, you want a picture like the one at the top, get the daily park admission so you can access Pebble beach.

The year the road was built near the lighthouse was the same year tourists began to show up to see it.  Keepers added that to their duties logging 5,000 visitors a year during the 1930s.  

Oven in keeper's home restored
to how it looked in 1920s.
8/25/2021 (dwm)

 When they took over the light's administration they set about restoring the grounds to how it looked during the 1920s.

 The lighthouse didn't open until 10AM (I am not sure if its hours are related to Covid-19 or their normal hours, check before you visit).  We got there at 9:30 so I could get shots from the beach before going up to the house.  We were in the second group to see a short film on the light's history then walked around other exhibits which included a 50,000 piece Lego model of the lighthouse building.

Climbing to the
lantern. 8/25/21
dwm photo

After walking through the keeper's house open to walk through, I got in a short line for the light.  Again this may be how they always do it or more of a Covid-19 precaution, but groups of 10-12 were allowed in to climb the two dozen steps into the lantern.

We crowded around the metal post which held the light apparatus. While not lit, the lens silently rotates around the light which is powered by a mechanism similar to a coocoo clock you.  The keeper would pull a cable lifting counter-weights that move the light around on its bed of liquid mercury for two hours before it had to be rewound.

Looking into the light from
below at the 3rd order
Fresnel lens. (dwm)

 The light is lit annually on November 10 in memory of the men who went down with the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975.

 Our small group admired, inspected, and talked about the light about 10 minutes before making our way down the steps so the next group could visit.

A stop in the gift shop was all that was left - during our visit the light's internet connection was down which meant they couldn't accept credit or debit cards.  No idea what the keepers would have thought about that!

The 1,500 pound light swept the horizon every ten seconds.  8/25/2021 dwm photo