page_title: Whitefish Point Light
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Whitefish Point Light / History
caption_attribution_description: English: The DCB-224 Carlisle &amp; theFinch aerobeacon in operation at Whitefish Point on November 3, 2007.
context_page_description: The Whitefish Point Light, a lighthouse in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, is the oldest operating light on Lake Superior. It is arguably the most important light on Lake Superior. All vessels entering and leaving Lake Superior must pass the light. It stands on the treacherous southern shoreline of Lake Superior known as the "Graveyard of the Great Lakes" in an area with more shipwrecks than any other area of the lake.
context_section_description: Construction on the first light began in 1847, and the lighthouse was said to resemble that at Old Presque Isle Light. First lit in 1849, it was one of the first lighthouses on the shores of Lake Superior. It is the oldest active light on the lake, standing at the point of land that marks the course change for vessels coming from the southern coast of Lake Superior, known as the "Graveyard of the Great Lakes", to the Soo Locks. All vessels entering or leaving Lake Superior must past Whitefish Point. Whitefish Point Light is arguably the most important light on Lake Superior. The Whitefish Point area has more shipwrecks than any other area in Lake Superior.
  The original structure was outfitted with Lewis lamps, which were thereafter upgraded to a fourth order Fresnel lens. The current structure, while modern looking, is a Civil War relic.  Built in 1861, the iron skeletal steel framework was designed to relieve stress caused by high winds. A similar design is used at Manitou Island Light in Lake Superior. It was equipped with a third order Fresnel lens.
  In 1968, the light was replaced with a DCB-224 aero beacon manufactured by the Carlisle & Finch Company. According to Volume 7 of the U.S. Coast Guard light list, it was visible for a distance of 26 nautical miles (48 km; 30 mi) in clear weather conditions, and had two unevenly spaced eclipses, and two flashes within every 20 second period. Putting aside questions of nostalgia, aesthetics, or appreciation for the engineering of a bygone era (as exemplified by the Fresnel lens), this iteration of lighthouse illumination was itself incredibly effective, and an endangered remnant of another bygone era.
  The station was automated in 1971.
  In 2011, the U.S. Coast Guard Local Notice to Mariners reported reduced intensity of the Whitefish Point light from June 7, 2011 until August 16, 2011, when the DCB-224 Series Carlisle & Finch aerobeacon lens was changed to a light-emitting diode (LED) lantern with a reduced range of 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) as permitted by Coast Guard rules and regulations adopted in 2003 for private aids to navigation. The aerobeacon lens is stored in a building at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum complex for possible future public display.
  The lighthouse is home to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, which has many artifacts from numerous shipwrecks in the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve, most notably, the bell from the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which was recovered from the wreck in 1995. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is open during the tourist season from 10 am to 6 pm, every day through October 31. The organization that operates the museum got 80.079% of its funding from the public in the year 2010.
  The light is considered iconic, and has been the subject of memorabilia. An official Michigan Historical Marker was erected in 1974. It is Registered Site L0272. The marker notes:
  This light, the oldest on Lake Superior, began operating in 1849, though the present tower was constructed later. An early stopping place for Indians, Voyageurs, Coureur des bois and Jesuit missionaries, the point marks the course change for ore boats and other ships navigating this treacherous coastline to and from St. Mary's Canal. Since 1971 the light, fog signal, and radio beacon have been automated and controlled from Sault Ste. Marie.
  The keepers were:
  1848–1851:    James B. Van Rensselaer
  1851–1853:    Amos Stiles
  1853–1856:    William C. Crampton
  1856–1859:    Belloni McGulpin
  1859–1861:    Charles Garland
  1861–1864:    Joseph Kemp
  1864–1868:    Thomas Stafford
  1868–1874:    Edward Ashman
  1874–1882:    Charles J. Linke
  1882–1883:    Edward Chambers
  1883–1903:    Charles Kimball
  1903–1931:    Robert Carlson
  Whitefish Point is on the Lake Superior coastline known as the “Graveyard of the Great Lakes”.  The numerous shipwrecks of Whitefish Bay include: 
  Comet
  John B. Cowle
  Drake
  Samuel Mather
  Miztec
  Myron
  Niagara
  John M. Osborn
  Sagamore
  Superior City
  Vienna
  These wreck sites are protected for future generations of sports divers by the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve
caption: The DCB-224 Carlisle & Finch aerobeacon in operation at Whitefish Point on November 3, 2007.
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