Lake Superior is the largest of the five Great Lakes and is home to 78 lighthouses! Three states border Lake Superior; Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Canada also borders the lake to the North.

The Great Lakes fascinate me! I have seen 3 out of five, and plan on seeing the last 2 someday soon! Lake Superior is the largest of the five Great Lakes and is the World’s largest freshwater lake by surface area. The southern shore is known as the “Graveyard of the Great Lakes”. There have been more shipwrecks in the Whitefish Point area than in any other area in Lake Superior. You may want to visit the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum

FUN FACT: The Ojibwe name for the lake is Gichigami or Gitchigumee which means “Great Sea”.

Wisconsin Lighthouses

The state of Wisconsin has 48 lighthouses. Two-thirds of them are located along the shores of Lake Michigan. For this post, I am concentrating on the 8 lighthouses of the Apostle Islands(Lake Superior), which are located off of Bayfield, Wisconsin.

The Apostle Islands

The Bayfield Peninsula is the northernmost region of mainland Wisconsin and it’s off this point where you will find the Apostle Islands on Lake, Superior. The Apostle Islands are a group of 22 islands, all of the islands, except Madeline Island, are part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. It is believed that the islands were named by a French Historian after the 12 Apostles of the Bible. We don’t know whether he could not count well, or that he only counted the 12 largest islands.

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1. Eagle Island
2. Sand Island – a Dock, Ranger Station, Camping, and a Lighthouse
3. York Island – Camping
4. Bear Island
5. Devil’s Island – a Dock, Camping, and a Lighthouse
6. Rocky Island – a Dock, Ranger Station, and Camping
7. South Twin Island – a Dock, and Camping
8. North Twin Island
9. Outer Island – a Lighthouse
10. Cat Island – Camping
11. Ironwood Island – Camping
12. Otter Island – Dock, and Camping
13. Raspberry Island – a Dock, Ranger Station, and a Lighthouse
14. Oak Island – a Dock, Ranger Station, and Camping
15. Manitou Island – a Dock, Ranger Station, Manitou Fish Camp, and Camping
16. Stockton Island – two Docks, Ranger Station, and Camping
17. Gull Island
18. Michigan Island – a Dock, Camping, and a Lighthouse
19. Hermit Island
20. Basswood Island – a Dock, Camping, and a Farm
21. Long Island – Lighthouse
22. Madeline Island

FUN FACT: One of North America’s greatest concentrations of black bears can be found on Stockton Island, in fact, black bears can be found on most of the Apostle Islands! This is due to their ability to swim and walk on the ice that forms in the winter months.

Lake Superior and the Apostle Islands hold a special place in my memory, this is where I spent some quality time with my Dad in 2007. Each year, in Bayfield, Wisconsin, they hold an “Apostle Islands Lighthouse Celebration” usually held in September. My Dad shared my love of lighthouses, so I was so excited when he suggested we head up to Bayfield and take a boat tour to one of the Island Lighthouses.

I had driven up from my home in North Carolina for a week’s visit. There are 8 lighthouses on the Apostle Islands. My Dad suggested we go to the Raspberry Island Lighthouse.

Apostle Island Lighthouses

1. Long Island(2), New La Pointe Light, Chequamegon Point Light
2. Michigan Island Lighthouse(2), Old and New
3. Outer Island Lighthouse
4. Devils Island Lighthouse
5. Raspberry Island Lighthouse
6. Sand Island

Long Island Light

Long Island is not like the other Apostle Islands. It is really an extension of Chequamegon Point (this is a peninsula that extends out from the mainland into Lake Superior). It is only 4 miles long and up to 400 yards wide. There have been 3 lighthouses on this small island. The first was LaPointe Light, a small wooden structure that was erected in 1858. This lighthouse was eventually replaced by 2 newer lighthouses spaced about 1 mile apart. The New La Pointe Light and the Chequamegon Point Light were both built in 1897.

VISITING: Long Island is not served by scheduled boat tours, the lighthouses can be seen from Madeline Island and Hwy 13. The lighthouses are not open to the public.

Michigan Island Light

Visiting Michigan Island is challenging due to the long-distance and exposed dock. Even the most experienced boaters find it challenging due to the ever-changing lake conditions. The newest lighthouse is 112 feet tall and is the tallest lighthouse in Wisconsin.

VISITING: If you can make it to the island, volunteers are available for lighthouse tours.

…Left alone on Michigan Island

In times gone by, lighthouse keepers lived on the islands and tended the lights. Some keepers were bachelors, and others were married and brought families to the lonely island stations. The Lightkeeper’s wife filled many roles, often helping their husbands tend the lights while caring for their children in conditions that are difficult to imagine today. Anna Maria Carlson was one such woman. Born in Sweden, Anna Maria came to the U.S. as a teenager. At the age of twenty-one, she married Robert Carlson.

Anna was quoted as saying;

“Oh! The loneliness of those days on Outer Island! There was nothing to see but water, with the dim outline of other islands of the Apostles group behind the haze, and an occasional steamer way out on the lake. When my housework was done, my husband used to take me down the shore to the fisherman’s shack, where we would visit for a while. Or we would walk out into the woods.

That was my life, day in and day out. Going ashore to the mainland, 40 miles away, meant riding in a sailboat, which always frightened me. Nights I would look out of the window and see nothing but the dark water; no lights anywhere, not even in the fisherman’s shanty, which was too far away.” as transcribed by reporter Stella Champney in the Detroit News, May 17, 1931,(from the National Park Service(NPS.gov) website)

Life was hard on the Island

I can only imagine how hard life would be! The couple moved from Outer Island to Robert Carlson’s new post as Lightkeeper on Michigan Island. Anna bore three children during this time. They were in their first year at Michigan Island when something horrible happened which tested Anna’s inner strength. They decided to stay on the island for the winter with the help of a hired girl who promised to stay. But, soon after, the hired girl slipped away and went to shore with some fishermen never to return. When her husband and his brother decided to go fishing one day, he left Anna all alone on the island with her children. She had plenty to keep her busy during the day, but as the sun went down, her fear was rising. She kept the fire going and watched for her husband through the night.

Anna did not know that her husband and his brother had fallen through the ice where they were fishing and were swept out to the open lake.

Anna later recalled that time;

“Morning found me on the verge of hysteria. But there was serious work to be done. I had to milk the cow because of the children. And I was afraid of a cow. Raised in Chicago, where one doesn’t even think of such things, I had never learned to milk, even after coming with my husband to Michigan Island, where a cow and chickens provided the main food for the children. It was bitterly cold and still snowing. A winter fog shut us in. I went down to the barn and looked at the cow. She swung her head and made a noise and I knew I could never milk her as I had seen my husband do.

Running into the woodshed, I grabbed the ax, and in desperation began chopping at the wall of her manger. Making a hole through which I could put both hands, I started to milk into a little tin cup which I held with one hand, milking with the other. The cow kicked and I jumped away. But the children had to have their milk. So back I went and I kept at it until I got enough for them. I fed the cow, and watered her, and looked after the chickens. Then I went back to the house and waited. I waited and watched, and somehow kept my reason all through that terrible day, and the more terrible night that followed. Things began to get a little hazy after that.

Two nights of terror and another night faced me. Somehow, I lived through them, looked after the children, got their milk, fed the chickens. That is about all that I remember of those days.” as transcribed by reporter Stella Champney in the Detroit News, May 17, 1931,(from the National Park Service(NPS.gov) website)

Outer Island Light

This Lighthouse sits on a bluff at the most remote point of the Apostle Islands. It was built in 1874. The brick lighthouse is 90 feet tall. It is exposed to the full force of Lake Superior! The dock has washed away, and waves have eroded the clay banks.

VISITING: Outer Island is the most remote lighthouse and getting there is challenging! Even the most experienced boater will find it difficult to dock.

Devil’s Island Light

The Devil’s Island Light was the last one lit in 1891, this was a temporary wood tower. The current tower steel tower was 82 feet tall and completed in 1898. Although Devil’s Island is remote, it is a favorite of experienced boaters and sea kayakers, there are several landing sites. Tour boats do not stop on the island but the lighthouse can be seen from the lake.

VISITING: If you do make it to the lighthouse, you will find volunteer lightkeepers there to give you a tour.

Raspberry Island Light

They call this lighthouse, the “Showplace of the Apostle Islands”. It was originally built in 1862 but was too small to house the three lightkeepers that were eventually needed and their families, and it had to be rebuilt in 1902.

VISITING: This is the most easily accessible island and in the summer, tour boats make regular stops on the island, and Park rangers give tours of the lighthouse and grounds.

Apostle Island Lighthouse Celebration

We took our boat early in the morning from Bayfield, Wisconsin. It was the Apostle Island Lighthouse Celebration which is held every September. There are special boat tours that leave from Bayfield to most of the lighthouses. The weather and lake conditions can change without warning on Lake Superior. Sometimes, boat tours can not reach the outer islands and have to reschedule for another day.

The boat was comfortable, it’s not a cruise, but it got us out to Raspberry Island. We had quite a climb from the boat dock to the lighthouse on top of the island bluff! The views of the lake from the island were amazing!

Sand Island Light

The last of our lighthouse tours is Sand Island Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1881 and is considered one of the most beautiful lighthouses on Lake Superior. It is built from sandstone quarried right on the island. The lighthouse keepers on this island were not as isolated as some of the others and are only a few miles from the mainland.

VISITING: Close to the mainland, Sand Island is popular with kayakers of all skill levels. There is no dock at the lighthouse but the rocks and beaches provide access in good weather. National Park Service volunteers provide tours of the lighthouse.

In conclusion..

Lake Superior and the Apostle Islands are very beautiful parts of our country. The lighthouses on the islands definitely make it worth a trip! I would suggest that traveling there in September during the “Apostle Islands Lighthouse Celebration” would give you the best chance to see the most lighthouses when the boat tours are running.

I would love to hear from you! Do you have a favorite lighthouse? Please share in the comments below!

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*You may also enjoy reading; A Guiding Light – History of the Lighthouse or A Guiding Light – Lighthouses of the Outer Banks

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