Five more Midwest lighthouses to love

I love visiting and photographing the many beautiful lighthouses lining our Great Lakes, and I thought it was time to do a follow-up post to my Five Midwest lighthouses to love article.

Every light we’ve visited has its own interesting history—tales that I never tire of telling. Readers of that previous lighthouse list post shared my affection for our Great Lakes lights and told me about a couple of their favorite lighthouses.

So, here is another list spotlighting a couple of reader favorites and a few other lighthouses I’ve visited over the years.

• Two Harbors Lighthouse, near Two Harbors (MN) on Lake Superior, holds a special place in one Midwest Guest reader’s heart. I loved taking photos of this bright red lighthouse against a brilliant blue sky with fluffy white clouds, and I had an especially difficult time choosing just one shot to include with this post. This lighthouse became a bed & breakfast since I last visited, so you can not only tour the lighthouse—you can stay overnight as well!

• Point Aux Barques Lighthouse, at the tip of Michigan’s Thumb on Lake Huron, holds the distinction of having Michigan’s first female light keeper. Catherine Shook took over keeping duties at the light after the light keeper, her husband Peter, drowned in 1849. The original Point Aux Barques tower needed replacing because of shoddy construction and the replacement tower built in 1857 still stands at the site today. Sue at Lighthouse News nominated this lighthouse and its expansive park as a must-see. I think it’s a good choice, and Sue’s site is a great resource for lighthouse lovers.

• Devil’s Island Lighthouse, at the northern end of Devil’s Island in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (WI) on Lake Superior, has an external skeletal bracing system designed to improve the tower’s stability. You can only reach this lighthouse by boat, so we viewed this tower as part of a sunset lighthouse cruise out of Bayfield, WI.

• Old Michigan City Lighthouse, near Michigan City (IN) on Lake Michigan, currently serves as a museum with newer pierhead lights serving as active navigational aids. The Old Michigan City Lighthouse, constructed of cream-colored bricks from Milwaukee, replaced the area’s original 1837 light. A female light keeper plays a key role in the Michigan City Lighthouse history as Harriet Colfax served in that capacity for 43 years, from her 1861 appointment until she retired at age 80 in 1904!

• Grand Traverse Lighthouse, at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula near Northport (MI) on Lake Michigan, sits in Leelanau State Park with a rustic campground nearby. I love walking out on the rocky shore at this light and finding a large rock to perch on as I sit, watch the waves and, especially during winter months, enjoy this isolated corner of Michigan.

Do you have a favorite Midwest lighthouse?

As always, these are only a few of our many beautiful Midwest lighthouses. Watch Midwest Guest for more lighthouse stories and photos in coming months.

Meanwhile, be sure to check out some of my other lighthouse stories:

A Day Away-spend a day at Marblehead Lighthouse, near Port Clinton (OH) on Lake Erie

Happy Birthday, Betsie!-celebrating the 150^th anniversary of Point Betsie Lighthouse near Frankfort (MI) on Lake Michigan

Hike to Big Sable Point Light-winter visit to Big Sable Point Lighthouse near Ludington (MI) on Lake Michigan

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse new to us-visit Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse near the Mackinaw City (MI) on Lake Huron

Toledo Harbor Lighthouse still stands guard at Maumee Bay-a distant glimpse of the Toledo Harbor Lighthouse and a close-up look at its lens near Toledo (OH) on Lake Erie

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

Comments

[Tim]

Lots of my favorites

[Dominique]

Tim-I really hope we can get back out to Two Harbors, the Apostle Islands area and Michigan City soon.
Fortunately, we get up to Traverse fairly often...and Point Aux Barques is just a long day-trip away!

....thinking about what my next lighthouse story should be :)