Near Fish Creek in Door County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Eagle Bluff Lighthouse

Peninsula's Maritime Heritage

By K. Linzmeier, June 8, 2014

1. Eagle Bluff Lighthouse Marker

Inscription.

Eagle Bluff Lighthouse. Peninsula's Maritime Heritage. Sailing vessels used two channels when navigating this part of Green Bay. The first was the western passage on the far side of Chambers Island. The second lies before you: the treacherous passage between the shore and the Strawberry Islands. . . Economic growth and settlement in Door County depended on swift and secure water transportation. To guide ships safely through the narrow Strawberry Channel, the federal government built Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in 1868 for a cost of $12,000. The structure, made of cream-colored Milwaukee brick, is perched atop a 40-foot bluff. Keeper Henry Stanley illuminated the original third-and-one-half order Fresnel lens on October 15th, six months after construction began. . . Ephraim native Sam Hanson served as Assistant Lighthouse Keeper at Chambers Island from 1909-1922. Clifford Hanson, standing right, died at age 18. He was walking across the ice in April, 1922, to fetch the mail in Fish Creek. Eagle Bluff Lighthouse Keeper Peter Coughlin helplessly watched the boy fall through. . . From the log of Lighthouse Keeper Peter Coughlin . . 10 April 1922 . The Hanson boy drowned in the channel near Fish Creek. I tried my best to save him. Had to walk to Fish Creek for help, the telephone out of order. . . 12 April 1922 . Keeper lit the light in the tower tonight for a small boat going to Chambers Island to to get Sam Hanson the assistant there to attend his boys funeral. . . Eagle Bluff Lighthouse Keepers . Tenure . . Henry Stanley 1868 - 1883 Born in Norway. Mines for gold in California, 1849. Marries German Katherine Hesh. Twelve-year-old son John dies in 1870. Daughter Elizabeth dies in 1881. . . William Duclon 1883 - 1918 Born in New York. Serves in Company K of the 14th New York Regiment Heavy Artillery, Civil War. Marries Julia Davenport, of Ottawa ancestry. Seven sons. Many Duclons are buried in Blossomburg Cemetery, located in Peninsula State Park. . . Peter Coughlin 1919 - 1926 Born in Canada. Marries widow Margaret Sullivan while serving as keeper at Alperia, Michigan. Assumes duties at Eagle Bluff at age 62. . . EagleBluffLighthouse.org. . This historical marker is Near Fish Creek in Door County Wisconsin

Sailing vessels used two channels when navigating this part of Green Bay. The first was the western passage on the far side of Chambers Island. The second lies before you: the treacherous passage between the shore and the Strawberry Islands.

Economic growth and settlement in Door County depended on swift and secure water transportation. To guide ships safely through the narrow Strawberry Channel, the federal government built Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in 1868 for a cost of $12,000. The structure, made of cream-colored Milwaukee brick, is perched atop a 40-foot bluff. Keeper Henry Stanley illuminated the original third-and-one-half order Fresnel lens on October 15th, six months after construction began.

Ephraim native Sam Hanson served as Assistant Lighthouse Keeper at Chambers Island from 1909-1922. Clifford Hanson, standing right, died at age 18. He was walking across the ice in April, 1922, to fetch the mail in Fish Creek. Eagle Bluff Lighthouse Keeper Peter Coughlin helplessly watched the boy fall through.

From the log of Lighthouse Keeper Peter Coughlin

10 April 1922
The Hanson
By K. Linzmeier, June 8, 2014

2. Close-up of Photo and Log
boy drowned in the channel near Fish Creek. I tried my best to save him. Had to walk to Fish Creek for help, the telephone out of order.

12 April 1922
Keeper lit the light in the tower tonight for a small boat going to Chambers Island to to get Sam Hanson the assistant there to attend his boys funeral.

Eagle Bluff Lighthouse Keepers • Tenure

Henry Stanley 1868 - 1883   Born in Norway. Mines for gold in California, 1849. Marries German Katherine Hesh. Twelve-year-old son John dies in 1870. Daughter Elizabeth dies in 1881.

William Duclon 1883 - 1918   Born in New York. Serves in Company K of the 14th New York Regiment Heavy Artillery, Civil War. Marries Julia Davenport, of Ottawa ancestry. Seven sons. Many Duclons are buried in Blossomburg Cemetery, located in Peninsula State Park.

Peter Coughlin 1919 - 1926   Born in Canada. Marries widow Margaret Sullivan while serving as keeper at Alperia, Michigan. Assumes duties at Eagle Bluff at age 62.

                                      EagleBluffLighthouse.org

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Man-Made Features • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Lighthouses series list.

Location. 45° 10.122′

Close-up of Photos and Captions image. Click for full size.

By K. Linzmeier, June 8, 2014

3. Close-up of Photos and Captions

N, 87° 14.209′ W. Marker is near Fish Creek, Wisconsin, in Door County. Marker can be reached from Shore Road 3.6 miles north of Main Street (Wisconsin Highway 42), on the left when traveling north. Marker is at Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in Peninsula State Park. Fee area; a vehicle admission sticker is required. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 10249 Shore Road, Fish Creek WI 54212, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Oak Leaf Anchor (within shouting distance of this marker); Island Paradise (approx. 0.8 miles away); Why Green Bay? (approx. 1.1 miles away); Privilege in the Park (approx. 1.7 miles away); A State Park System is Formed (approx. 1.8 miles away); Life on the Ledge (approx. 1.9 miles away); A Road Less Traveled (approx. 2.1 miles away); Shorelines and Sedge Meadows (approx. 2.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fish Creek.

More about this marker. inset & captions:
• Map showing Strawberry Islands.
• Maritime traffic reached its peak in the early 1900s with approximately 4,000 vessels traveling Green Bay waters in the nine-month navigation season.
• Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, circa 1920.
• Julia and William Duclon
• The Duclon's seven sons.

Also see . . .
1. Eagle Bluff Lighthouse. History. (Submitted on July 12, 2014.)

2. Peninsula State Park. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Peninsula State Park History. (Submitted on July 12, 2014.)

Additional keywords. Eagle Lighthouse

By K. Linzmeier, June 8, 2014

4. Close-up of Photos and Captions

By K. Linzmeier, June 8, 2014

5. Eagle Bluff Lighthouse Marker

Eagle Bluff Lighthouse and Marker image. Click for full size.

By K. Linzmeier, June 8, 2014

6. Eagle Bluff Lighthouse and Marker

(marker is to the left)

Eagle Bluff Lighthouse image. Click for full size.

By K. Linzmeier, June 8, 2014

7. Eagle Bluff Lighthouse

National Register of Historic Places #70000032
Listed 1970

Eagle Bluff Lighthouse Date Stone image. Click for full size.

By K. Linzmeier, June 8, 2014

8. Eagle Bluff Lighthouse Date Stone

1868

Plaques on Lighthouse image. Click for full size.

By K. Linzmeier, June 8, 2014

9. Plaques on Lighthouse

This structure is listed in the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.
This property is listed in the Wisconsin State Register of Historical Places The State Historical Society of Wisconsin

Lighthouse and Anchor image. Click for full size.

By K. Linzmeier, June 8, 2014

10. Lighthouse and Anchor

By K. Linzmeier, June 8, 2014

11. Anchor

The outhouse can be seen in the background.

Anchor Plaque image. Click for full size.

By K. Linzmeier, June 8, 2014

12. Anchor Plaque

The 1,000 pound anchor from the schooner "Oak Leaf" launched on April 14, 1866. Sank in Sturgeon Bay in 1926.

Blossomberg Cemetery image. Click for full size.

By K. Linzmeier, June 8, 2014

13. Blossomberg Cemetery

4010 Mengelberg Lane
This cemetery is mentioned in the marker text.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on July 12, 2014, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 401 times since then and 3 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. submitted on July 12, 2014, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.