Michigan Lights - Whitefish Point

Whitefish Point. 10/6/2024 dwm photo

Split Rock Lighthouse is the grand dame of U.S. lighthouses on Lake Superior. Whitefish Point is its guardian angel.

Ship traffic on Lake Superior began in 1855 when the first lock in Sault Ste Marie connected the big lake with the next Great Lake, Huron, down the St. Mary's River.

Shipping was happened before the locks but it meant unloading and reloading onto other ships after navigating the 21-foot difference from the big lake to the river.

Whitefish Point was the first lighthouse on Lake Superior to help ships coming out of Sault Ste. Marie turn west for Duluth. It was a good location with deep water close to a prominent point. In 1846, Congress was asked for funds to build a light at Whitefish Point and two others. Work began in 1848 and the original stone tower went into service in 1849.

The fog horn building faces the point. 10/6/24 dwm

When we left Crisp Point lighthouse, we followed the sand and gravel roads to M-123 which turned south at Paradise. We went north 11 miles to Whitefish Point to see the lighthouse complex and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.

In the the mid to late 19th century, life-saving stations were frequently near lighthouses. One was built at Whitefish in 1923, before then, light keepers took rescues into their own hands. As you tour the various buildings, many first-hand accounts are shared of both heroic and tragic endings.

Edmund Fitzgerald's bell. 10/6/24 dwm

The worst and most famous shipwreck happened too far from Whitefish Point where the Edmund Fitzgerald might have found shelter, but close enough (15 miles northeast) to serve as a memorial for the 29 men who died November 10, 1975.

There is a short film about the shipwreck and the efforts to find the wreck and recover its bell for a memorial. The bell was lifted out of the cold water July 4, 1995.

It was rung at a service for the families of the crew, then cleaned and polished. It now stands silently in the museum.

An early surf boat. dwm

There are a number of accounts shared in the museum and on the walls of the building that holds a surf boat used in rescue efforts. (photo left)

It's estimated at least 550 ships wrecked in Lake Superior and experts think there are probably more on the floor of a cold and treacherous inland sea. 200 of the wrecks are in the area around Whitefish Point.

The lighthouse looks modern with it's steel supports, but it was built in 1860. When it was finished in 1861, it replaced the stone tower put in place 12 years earlier.

It's 78-feet tall with four layers of bracing around a cylindrical shaft that has a spiral staircase from the first level to the watch room which is located below the lantern. A covered walk connects the keeper's quarters to the tower. (photo below right)

The keeper's quarters were open to tour but unfortunately the tower was not. I was disappointed but given the crowd, I understood it being closed. The house was made into a duplex for the head and assistant keeper and their families. A smaller building served as home for a second assistant. (farthest left in photo below)

The keeper's quarters and walkway to tower. 20/6/24 dwm

The keeper's quarters look like they might have under the direction of Keeper Carl Robert Johan Carlson. He served as keeper the longest, from 1903 to 1931.

The assistant keeper's house was under repair when we visited. It's one of many buildings at the station. The building where we watched the movie was re-built, sheltering a rescue boat that sat on rails so it could slide into the water during an emergency.

The keeper's house looks warm and welcoming which is important when you consider how isolated and difficult to reach it was. One consequence was that the keeper's wife was expected to feed any guest workers or sailors at the station.

Be sure to allow plenty of time to tour Whitefish Point. The museum is open 9 to 5 from May 1to October 31. Adult admission is $15 (in 2024), but worth every penny. Take your time touring the various buildings and if it's a nice day, spend time on the deck and beach looking at the lake.

Keep scrolling, plenty of photos from Whitefish Point Lighthouse Station