Beacon on the Bluff

Beacon on the Bluff. . , Here on Rock Island's northern most point, 122 feet above Lake Michigan, Wisconsin's first lighthouse was constructed in 1836. , Since this lighthouse was not well built, it was replaced with the present structure in 1858. , In the early years, lighthouse-keeping families resided year-round in the lighthouse, surrounded by many smaller buildings. Cleared grounds provided wood and places for garden, apple trees and lilac bushes., A dry 1884 summer brought no rain and a defect in the cisterns. With no water easily available, the keeper and his family carried water, two bucketsful at a time, up from the lake, 154 steps. The Lighthouse Board had a well drilled at the lighthouse in 1903., Copper gutters directed rainwater into basement cisterns., Tending the lighthouse required the work of more than one person, so keepers were expected to be married. , Besides keeping the light lit and maintaining the building and grounds, residents needed to be self-sufficient. They fished, kept livestock and gardened. One keeper's wife taught school in the basement to bring in money from the island's fishing families., Keeper Jesse Miner , 1886-1898, Lighthouses do not stand alone; other structures support the working light. , The white stone privy (outhouse) is the oldest building in Door County. A small brick oil house stored lamp fuel, keeping it isolated in case of fire. A tiny wooden shack, cobbled together of old lumber and flattened oil cans, served as a smokehouse to smoke fish or port. Ruins of the barn are evident nearby. , The small brick oil house east of the lighthouse stored kerosene after the Lighthouse Board approved its use in the early 1900s., In 1946, the Rock Island light was automated. , The last lighthouse keeper left, and the building sat vacant for decades. The Department of Natural Resources and the Friends of Rock Island formed a partnership to restore the building and surrounding area to the way they looked in the early 1900s. , The Fourth order Fresnel lens produced a steady, white light visible for 14 nautical miles.