Wisconsin Lights - Raspberry Island

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Raspberry Island Lighthouse. 9/21/2022 dwm
 The captain of the tour boat I boarded that September morning from the Apostle Islands Cruises company was up front when he said winds were too strong for us to see all three lighthouses on the planned route.
 
 In fact, he said there was a chance we might not reach the famous Raspberry Lighthouse but promised they would try to find a safe and less bumpy path.

 Islands shelter the port in Bayfield and the waters ringed by the twenty-two islands were calm.  Where it was unprotected the wind and waves were unstopped. I was OK not going to Sand and Devil's islands.

The light as we sailed away. dwm photo
The Raspberry Lighthouse, named for the river of the same name across the water on the mainland, was the third on the Apostle Islands and the first marking the entrance to the west channel for boats to reach Bayfield from the west side of Lake Superior.
 
The light is 15 miles from Bayfield, a fair distance over water, which I experienced personally on a nice-sized boat, keepers then had to use small sail boats.

It was built in 1862, expanded in 1906 when it changed to hold two keepers and their families, with space for, as plans said, 'an unmarried assistant.'
 
Two living quarters flank the light. 9/21/22
 The light was kept steadily until being shut down in 1947.  It stood empty for ten years while Minneapolis architects used it as a corporate retreat.  

 In 1970, Raspberry Island and the other 21 were designated by Congress as part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.  The National Park Service ended the architects lease in 1975.

 Buildings were re-painted in 1976 and the gardens planted and maintained by keepers were reconstructed in 1981. 
 
Major restoration work was done over 2005 - 06 restoring the south side of the house to how it looked 100 years ago.  In the summer, the National Park Service offers tours through Apostle Island cruises.  That would be fun, we missed those dates by three weeks.  

There are nine lighthouses in the Apostle Islands - the ones I've not yet seen or captured so far are: Outer Island, Sand Island, Devils Island, and two on Michigan Island (old and new) - I hope to eventually see them all.

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