Raspberry Island Light

The Raspberry Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on the southern part of Raspberry Island, marking the west channel of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior in Bayfield County, Wisconsin, near the city of Bayfield. It was erected in 1862, marking the western channel.

Raspberry Island Light
LocationRaspberry Island, Wisconsin
Coordinates46°58′13.2″N 90°48′17.47″W[1]
Year first lit1862
Automated1947
FoundationStone
ConstructionWood
Tower shapeSquare, attached white bldg. w/red roof
Markings / patternwhite w/black trim & lantern
Tower height43 feet (13 m)
Focal height77 feet (23 m)[2]
Original lensFifth order Fresnel lens
Range7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi)[1]
CharacteristicFl W 2.5s[1]
ARLHS numberUSA-688
USCG number7-15555
HeritageNRHP contributing property 
Raspberry Island Light
Area33.8 acres (13.7 ha)
Built1857 (1857)
Built byUnited States Lighthouse Service
Part ofApostle Islands Lighthouses (ID77000145[3])
Added to NRHPMarch 8, 1977

History
The original lens is on display at the Madeline Island Historical Museum

It is said to be one of the few surviving wood framed lighthouses left on Lake Superior. The complex includes a square tower rising up from the attached Lighthouse keeper's quarters, a brick fog signal building, frame barn, brick oil house, boathouse, two outhouses, and a dock.[4]

The light was automated in 1947 and was later transferred to the National Park Service as part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. It is a contributing property of the Apostle Islands Lighthouses and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.[3] It is also listed in the Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey, WI-312. The original Fresnel lens is on display at the Madeline Island Historical Museum.

The old battery system in the fog signal building was replaced by a solar powered 300 mm Tideland Signal acrylic optic atop a pole, which continues to light the island to this day.[5] The location is an active aid to navigation, with a characteristic white flash every 2.5 seconds.[6]

  • USCG archive photo
  • 1940s overview of the Raspberry Island Light Station
  • Raspberry Island Light Station from Lake Superior

Access

Most of the Apostle Islands light stations may be viewed (but not accessed) on the Apostle Islands Cruise Service water taxi or by private boat during the summer.[7] During the Annual Apostle Island Lighthouse Celebration[8] Ferry tour service is available for all the lighthouses. In the tourist season, park rangers are on the island to greet visitors.[9]

See also

References
  1. Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.
  2. Pepper, Terry. "Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes".
  3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  4. Wobser, David, Raspberry Island Light, Boatnerd
  5. Pepper, Terry. "Seeing the Light: Raspberry Island Lighthouse".
  6. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Northern Wisconsin". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  7. Apostle Islands Cruise Service.
  8. Apostle Island Lighthouse Celebration.
  9. Wobser, David, La Pointe Light, Boatnerd Originally in Great Laker Magazine.

Further reading
  • Havighurst, Walter (1943) The Long Ships Passing: The Story of the Great Lakes, Macmillan Publishers.
  • Oleszewski, Wes, Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
  • Pepper, Terry. "Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes".
  • Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1-55046-399-3.
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