Last in a Series
Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan Coastline
By Ken and Barb Wardius
In its long and storied maritime history, Wisconsin shorelines have been graced by forty-eight lighthouses. From Lake Superior to Lake Michigan and inland Lake Winnebago, lighthouses are an integral part of our heritage. No symbol is more synonymous with the Great Lakes’ rich nautical past than the lighthouse. For more than a century, lighthouses provided a measure of safety for mariners plying these inland seas. The Badger State has the second highest number of lighthouses on the Great Lakes, behind Michigan, which reigns as the champion with well over one hundred beacons.
Like most lighthouses throughout the world, those in Wisconsin were built primarily to guide ships to specific cities or towns, while others identified hazardous shoals, reefs and shallows. These historic beacons have saved countless sailors, ships and cargo.
The tales of these structures are less about the dates they were constructed or their heights, but more about the innumerable years of service provided by dedicated lighthouse keepers and their families. Great Lakes mariners relied on these folks “keeping the light” to afford them safe harbor.
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Wisconsin’s lighthouses blazed a trail through the darkness and played a tremendous role in shaping our diverse state. Wisconsin attracted European settlers and the maritime trade that became the backbone of local economies. Water-borne commerce, the thread that weaves through the entire Great Lakes region, was the lifeblood of early Wisconsin. Lighthouses were essential in this process.
Every major town along Lake Michigan’s western shore, especially those with rivers, has a lighthouse. Several cities have more than one.
The coastline from Algoma to Kenosha became hubs for logging, manufacturing, transportation, commercial fishing, and ship building. This region accounts for seventeen Wisconsin Lake Michigan lighthouses.
From the mid-1800s to the 1930s, many significant lighthouses lined Wisconsin’s east coast. Of special note are: Rawley Point Lighthouse in Point Beach State Forest near Two Rivers is Wisconsin’s tallest beacon at one hundred and eleven feet; lady lighthouse keeper Georgia Stebbins who served with distinction for more than twenty years at Milwaukee’s North Point Lighthouse; and the Wind Point Lighthouse north of Racine, one of the oldest and tallest lights still operating on the Great Lakes.
From Lake Superior to the north, inland Lake Winnebago, the Green Bay, Door County, and the remaining length of Lake Michigan, Wisconsin’s lighthouses have played a major part in our storied maritime history. Their contribution to maritime safety cannot be underestimated.
Photo: North Point Milwaukee Lighthouse Credit: Ken and Barb Wardius
Ken and Barb Wardius talk about lighthouses on Wisconsin Public Radio.
Ken and Barb Wardius are the authors of Wisconsin Lighthouses, A Photographic & Historical Guide. They have also written books on the Cana Island Lighthouse, the Wind Point Lighthouse and the North Point Milwaukee Lighthouse. They live in Glendale, Wisconsin, and are members of the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society. Their website is www.gowisconsinlighthouses.com
