Lighthouses in Door County, Wisconsin

Door County Wisconsin

Door County is the largest county in Wisconsin, it is a very beautiful and unique part of the state. On the map, it’s the little finger(peninsula) on the northeast part of the state. Door County is located on a peninsula located between Green Bay and Lake Michigan. From the city of Sturgeon Bay to Gill’s Rock and Washington Island. You will find a series of quaint small towns with names like; Egg Harbor, Ephraim, Baileys Harbor, Fish Creek, and Sister Bay. Some of my favorite things about visiting Door County are the beautiful views of Lake Michigan, great hiking, outdoor fish boils, and cherry pie! If you are looking for a place to do some hiking, eat great food, or just enjoy the beautiful scenery, Door County is for you! You will have 5 State Parks, 19 County Parks, and dozens of local parks to explore! Don’t forget the 11 lighthouses!

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Door County State Parks

1. Potawatomi State Park, Sturgeon Bay, WI
2. Whitefish Dunes State Park, Sturgeon Bay, WI
3. Peninsula State Park, Fish Creek, WI
4. Newport State Park, Ellison Bay, WI
5. Rock Island State Park, Washington, WI

I don’t think many people consider the state of Wisconsin when planning their vacations, but Door County would be a great place to add to your Travel Wish list! There are many great things to do in Door County.

With 300 miles of coastline and 11 majestic lighthouses, Door County has one of the highest concentrations of lighthouses in any county in the country.

Door County History

The first inhabitants of this area were Native Americans. The dominant tribe in this area was the Potawatomi.

In the early 1600s, the peninsula saw French explorers and fur traders, such as Jean Nicolet and Father Marquette pass through. Many ships loaded with furs were lost in the treacherous Great Lakes as they made their way back East. This is one of the reasons that Lighthouses were needed!

The British claimed this area from the French, and in 1783 the United States claimed it from Britain.

In 1844, the first permanent white settlers made their home in Little Sturgeon Bay, they eventually moved North to Weborg Point and Fish Creek.

In 1853, Reverend Andrew Iverson and 3 followers set out from Green Bay and walked on the ice to Eagle Harbor where they met others crossing from the opposite direction. There he found a site for his congregation and the community of Ephraim was born.

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Door County Lighthouses

1. Sturgeon Bay North Pierhead Light
2. Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Light
3. Sherwood Point Light
4. Old Baileys Harbor Light
5. Baileys Harbor Range Lights
6. Cana Island Lighthouse
7. Eagle Bluff Lighthouse
8. Chambers Island Light
9. Pilot Island Light
10. Plum Island Light
11. Pottawatomie (Rock Island) Light

Lighthouses of Sturgeon Bay

Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal North Pierhead Light

Through the years there have been several lighthouses located along the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, the Sturgeon Bay Canal North Pierhead Light was the first. It was constructed in 1881 and is painted red. The lighthouse is located on the North Pier of the southern entrance to the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal on the Lake Michigan side.

Fun Fact: Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal

The Sturgeon Bay Canal was built to provide a shipping canal from Lake Michigan to Green Bay. The canal is approximately 1.3 miles in length and dug through the Door Peninsula’s eastern side. The canal was dug from 1872 to 1881 and then was only open to small watercraft. In 1890 larger ships were allowed to use the canal. Today, the canal is maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The size of the canal has been widened from 100 feet wide and 6 feet deep, to 125 feet wide and 20 feet deep.

Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Light

The Sturgeon Bay Canal Lighthouse is located at 2501 Canal Rd, on the east side of the south entrance to the Sturgeon Bay Canal. It was built in 1899. The Lighthouse stands 98 feet tall and is made of concrete. Today, the lighthouse is an active US Coast Guard Station and not open to the public.

Access: not open to the public except during the Lighthouse Walk held the second weekend in June.

Sherwood Point Lighthouse

Sherwood Point Lighthouse is located on the Green Bay side of the Ship Canal near Idlewild WI. It was built to help mariners entering Sturgeon Bay from Green Bay and was completed in 1883. It is the only Door County Lighthouse built with red brick. It is 35 feet tall. In 1983, the light was automated, until then, it was the last manned lighthouse on the Great Lakes.

The facility is operated as a rest and recuperation area for active members of the U.S. military on a rental basis.  

Access: not open to the public except during the Lighthouse Walk held the second weekend in June.

Old Baileys Harbor Lighthouse

History of Baileys Harbor

In 1848 Captain Justice Bailey was sailing along the western coast of Lake Michigan when he encountered a violent storm, he sought refuge in a nearby inlet. The next day, he discovered an abundance of limestone and timber in this area(which would later bear his name). He shared his findings with his boss who purchased 125 acres around the bay and dispatched a group of men to start a settlement, and build a pier, sawmill, and quarry.

The only thing preventing this from being an important harbor was a lighthouse to guide the vessels past the dangerous reefs. In 1852 Congress agreed to guilt a lighthouse on a small island situated along the eastern shore of the harbor. Limestone from their own quarry was used to construct the 52 feet tall tower.

In 1866, an inspector deemed the lighthouse in “very defective condition”. The lighthouse was a marker to the harbor but provided little guidance to vessels trying to avoid the dangerous shallows and reefs on the southeast side of the bay. The lighthouse board decided to build the new light station on Cana Island along with a pair of range lights to light the way into the harbor. In 1869 the Old Baileys Harbor Light was extinguished.

Access: not open to the public. The remains of the lighthouse and attached dwelling are privately owned and used as a cottage.

Baileys Harbor Range Lights and Cana Island Lighthouse

NOTE: Range Lights or Leading Lights:  two or more lights are placed onshore to guide a ship by keeping it in line as it travels through a channel.

Baileys Harbor Range Lights were built in 1869. A sailor got “on range” by vertically aligning the white light of the Upper Range Light with the Lower Range Light’s red beacon from the water. The range lights are still “on range” and functional as navigation aids.

Cana Island Lighthouse

Located just north of Baileys Harbor on the 8.7 acres of Cana Island, which is connected to the mainland via a rocky channel, Cana Island Lighthouse was built to replace the Baileys Harbor light in 1869. The tower is 89 feet tall and built from Cream City Brick. It is still used as an active navigational aid.

Access: Both the Lighthouse and Keepers’ quarters are open to the public for tours by means of the Door County Maritime Museum. Climb the 97 steps to the gallery deck, which has amazing views of Lake Michigan!

Eagle Bluff Lighthouse

Eagle Bluff Lighthouse is located at 10249 Shore Road, Fish Creek, on a bluff 76 feet above the waters of Green Bay. The Lighthouse was built in 1868 on Eagle Bluff to help commercial ships pass through the Strawberry Channel, situated on the eastern side of Green Bay between the Strawberry Islands and Door County Peninsula.  The tower is 43 feet tall and made from Cream City Brick.

Access: June 8-Oct 25 walk-thru tours & tower climbs every 30 mins, for a small fee. The Museum is also worth seeing!

Chambers Island Lighthouse

Chambers Island is the largest island in Green Bay and lies about 7.5 miles northwest of Fish Creek. The island is surrounded by shoals, reefs, and small islands, which makes it a great place for a lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1868, is made of concrete, and stands 67 feet tall. The island can be reached by a 45-minute boat ride. Most of the island is privately owned except for the Lighthouse and park.

A few small islands east of Chambers Island are known for their strawberries and are called the “strawberry islands”. One of the lighthouse keepers also grew strawberries on Chambers Island and gave Strawberry pie to visitors!

Access: the lighthouse is open to the public when the keeper is present. Tours are also given during the Lighthouse Festival.

Plum Island and Pilot Island Lighthouses

Note: Porte Des Morts or “Death’s Door” is a narrow strait that separates the tip of the Door County Peninsula from a collection of islands that extends toward Michigan’s upper peninsula.

In 1848 Congress decided that a lighthouse was needed to guide ships through this passage which links Green Bay with Lake Michigan. A stone tower and dwelling were built on the southern end of Plum Island but they soon realized it was built too far inside the passage to be of service to mariners. Pilot Island, located about 2 miles from Plum Island, was chosen as the site for the new lighthouse. It was built in 1858 on the highest point on the island, only 11 feet above the water. A two-story dwelling was built out of cream-colored brick with a square tower and lantern room mounted atop the dwelling’s western gable.

The Pilot Island Lighthouse was staffed until 1962 when the Coast Guard installed an automatic light. In 2007, the Fish & Wildlife Service took jurisdiction over both Plum and Pilot Islands, and both islands were added to the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Access: The grounds, dwelling, and tower are closed. It is currently abandoned, overgrown, and overrun by a large population of cormorants.

Pottawatomie (Rock Island) Light

The Rock Island Passage is the widest passage connecting Green Bay with Lake Michigan. In 1834 Congress agreed to have a Lighthouse built to mark the southern side of the Rock Island Passage. The site was on top of a 137-foot bluff on the northern end of the island. Rock was quarried on the island for the tower and dwelling.

The lighthouse was known as Pottawatomie after the Native Americans that inhabited the area. The lighthouse was completed in 1837, one year after the creation of the “Territory of Wisconsin”. It was the first lighthouse built on Lake Michigan.

Access:  Visiting the lighthouse requires a boat ride to Rock Island, then a 1.25-mile hike (one-way) from the dock. Lighthouse has been restored and the tour includes climbing up to the lantern room for some great views!

In Conclusion..

Wisconsin has a lot of great places to explore! It is bordered by 2 great lakes which makes it a wonderful place to find lighthouses! Door County is a very unique place, it is a peninsula bordered on the west by Green Bay and the east by Lake Michigan. It is filled with charming little towns, fish boils, and lots of cherry pie! A lot of these lighthouses can only be visited during the Door County Lighthouse Festivals; Lighthouse Walk and Lighthouse Festival.

Where is your favorite lighthouse located? Please comment below and let me know! Thanks for sharing this post with your family & friends on your social media accounts!

The first post in my series is History of the Lighthouse.

You may also enjoy reading about the Wisconsin Lighthouses on Lake Superior.

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*Some photos were found on Canva.com*

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