Perched upon Michigan Island, within the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, you'll find the Michigan Island Lightstation, which features two distinct lighthouses. While the older tower was built in 1856, the much taller successor was erected on the site in 1929. However, this taller tower was not originally born on Michigan Island; it was built in 1881 at Schooner’s Ledge in Pennsylvania as a range light on the Delaware River.
After channel improvements eliminated the need for its original location, the tower was taken down in 1918 and shipped to Wisconsin. Due to a lack of funding, its reassembly and placement into service on Michigan Island were delayed until 1929. This new tower was necessary because the original 1856 light, situated at the southern end of the island, was poorly positioned to warn ships of the nearby Gull Island and its surrounding shoals.
Presently, the Michigan Island Lightstation stands under the protection of the National Park Service and is a contributing property of the Apostle Islands Lighthouses. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and remains a historic landmark of the Great Lakes.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Friendly Jane
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