Michigan Lights - Ontonagon and Ontonagon Pierhead

The house was built in 1866. 9/18/22

Our final Michigan lighthouse stop was in the community of Ontonagon.  It is the last town of any size before you reach the Wisconsin state line.

 

We made it just in time to go inside and look around, as the volunteer was off duty at 3.  He shared the story of the house and the town which was tied to a treaty signed between the United States and area Chippewa tribe in 1842.

 

The treaty brought a large number of prospectors into the Upper Peninsula and major development of mines.  According to the lighthouse's history, the Ontonagon River is the largest river on the south shore of the Keweenaw Peninsula which empties into the lake. 

 

It's the reason the Ontonagon light was among the first five built on Lake Superior.

 

The first-generation light was built in 1851 out of wood.  It was replaced in 1866 with the current one, built with cream city brick.

 

The East Parlor's large table was for maps.

 Nine keepers tended the light between 1853 and 1964 when the light was decommissioned.  The final keeper was given a lifelong lease, Arnold Huuki who lived out his days there before passing in 1974.

 A kitchen was added to the house in 1890, an oil house was built in 1901 and dormers added bedroom space in 1904.

 The tour guide told us that whale oil was never used to power lighthouse lanterns, calling it a myth.  Instead, according to their research vegetable oil was the first fuel, which was replaced by kerosene.  

 

A dormer bedroom.

Ship traffic increased as timber harvesting and mining grew.  A sand bar across the river's mouth was dredged and breakwaters installed to protect it; for a while Ontonagon was the busiest port on Lake Superior.

 

The local historical society was able to share much of the personal story of the light-keepers and their families.  To the best of my recollection, this may be the only light where all the changes were made to better accommodate keepers' families. 

I can't say that wasn't done elsewhere, just that in the 100+ houses we've visited and learned about, this is unique.

The oil lamp used inside the 2nd lens.

 Another unusual feature is the oil lamp in the lantern room.  It was used inside the lighthouse's first Fresnel lens, a 5th order lens (2nd smallest), that was installed at Ontonagon in 1857.  It was a gift from the final light-keeper.

 

 Three floors plus the lantern are restored to what the home looked like in 1915, because all the physical remodeling was done by then and it had electricity.  An original light fixture hangs in the kitchen.

 There is plenty of history on the site.  In addition to the oil house the original outhouse still stands.  Built in 1866, it was made with a stone vault that required regular cleaning.

 More recent cleaning, in the form of an archeological dig by high school students, uncovered a number of artifacts, like china, that are now on display inside the house.

 The other lighthouse in town wasn't far away but couldn't be seen from the grounds or the lantern, but it wasn't far away.

The Pierhead light. 9/18/22 dwm

While the Ontonagon Lighthouse helped ships find the town, a second light was needed to help ships navigate the entry into the river because of shifting sands that changed the depth.  The first light was placed in 1875, it was moved with a few physical changes until it stood 400-feet away from shore at the end of a pier.

 

It was washed away in an 1899 storm.  Its replacement, the current light, was installed in 1900.  The Ontonagon light-keeper was also responsible for the pier-head light, a 750-foot boardwalk covered the distance to the pier, which was 600-feet long, and then an elevated walk 1,200 feet to the light. That's almost a half-mile, often traveled in less than ideal conditions.

This light looks identical to many other pier-head lights.  We were able to see it from the gravel driveway we drove to the Ontonagon Lighthouse.  I pulled out of traffic and set my tripod for several shots.

A steady, ready when needed light. 9/18/22 dwm

 The pier-head light is our last Michigan light until we return to visit the lights going east of Marquette to Sault Ste. Marie and down to Lake Huron.  

 

 There are several we could see by returning for a lighthouse cruise out of Mackinaw City. When the Sand Hills Lighthouse re-opens, I hope to re-visit so we can see more than on the last trip.

 

  Ontonagon is pronounced like it looks, On-ta-noggin.  In Ojibwe, the word describes a bowl or bowl shape, which is how the area under water was described before work was done to dredge the river entry.

Click here to see more lights from our trip and the rest of the collection.

 

A view from the lantern room down river to Lake Superior.

Ontonagon's downtown is up river from the lighthouse.

 

All photos by David Mossner, 9/18/2022