Fog Signal Building

Fog Signal Building. . A fog signal was installed in this building on November 30, 1895. Its purpose was to warn mariners of rock and reef along this treacherous Lake Superior coast. The invaluable signal was activated during periods of fog when the light in the tower was less effective., This building has 10 inch thick walls, filled with sawdust, and covered inside and out with sheet metal. It housed boilers, compressors, and other equipment needed to support the fog signal. The eighteen-inch whistles on the roof, in this photograph, produced the signal with steam pressure. In later years, an air-driven diaphone foghorn produced a deep-throated warning signal that traveled for a long distance. A radio beacon transmitter was installed in this building in 1929 for use in conjunction with the foghorn., The fog signal was decommissioned in 1978 and replaced by a bell buoy, which is anchored near the entrance to Eagle Harbor., The Keweenaw county Historical society formally opened this building as a museum on July 17, 1983., Supply Dock Leading to the Fog Signal Building at the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse , The steel ships Marigold, Amaranth, and Aspen were US Lighthouse Service tenders that carried supplies for this area. All supplies were brought to the Eagle Harbor Light Station over Lake Superior waters. A loading dock and trestle walk to the fog signal building were built in this nearby cove in 1895 in order to accommodate these deliveries., The Lighthouse Tender would anchor offshore and a scow would be lowered to the water, transferring lamp oil, coal, and maintenance supplies to this dock.