Minnesota Lights - Grand Marais Breakwater

The Grand Maris Breakwater Lighthouse.
8/24/2021 dwm photo

 Grand Marais (French for Great Marsh) was the first port north of Duluth to get a lighthouse.

 When the 1854 Treaty of LaPointe was signed, it opened the area to settlement.  The first European to arrive was a fur trader from Detroit who got there in 1856.

 By 1878 efforts were underway to build a lighthouse, but Congress wouldn't approve funding until the bay was secured. (Information from Lighthousefriends.com) 

The breakwater was finished in 1883.  During a storm the next year, eleven ships took shelter at Grand Marais.

The lighthouse was approved in July, 1885 and operating in August.  It stood up to all Lake Superior could throw at it until a 1919 storm left it beyond repair.  The replacement, which is still on duty, arrived the next year.

The view from downtown Grand Marais to the
lights marking entry into port. 8/24/2021 (dwm)

Grand Marais sits less than 40 miles from the Canadian border.  The town of 1,300 has a couple tastes from our friend to the north.

We drove to Grand Marais from Duluth to shoot the light then head back to Two Harbors for the night and visit Split Rock the next day.  We arrived in time for lunch when I had my first taste of poutine, amazing!

I took the photo at right from the corner outside the restaurant then walked around the bay to the breakwater which is where I took the picture above left.

The route to the lighthouse was over large rocks
until reaching the concrete breakwater.
8/24/2021 (dwm)

 The path starts just past the Coast Guard command house with two steps up to a concrete slab. A few steps later you decide which way to walk over a number of large rocks until you reach the poured breakwater which has a cable to keep you from falling in the lake.

 The trees and wild grasses which took root in the rocky portion of the breakwater improved the aesthetics for its picture.  

Because Grand Marais is still a small town, although the largest for many miles, the light is a fitting symbol for the community.

It works hard day-in and day-out without asking for attention or notoriety, it just does its job.

Visitors head back to land after checking out the light up close. 8/24/2021 (dwm)

A young boy runs along the shore of the Grand Marais harbor. 8/24/2021 (dwm)