Lighthouses

Lighthouse
A sight to see.

Few structures are as identified with Door County than are the lighthouses. With 250 miles of shoreline, much of it difficult to navigate, they were essential to the ships that plied the waters off the Peninsula and continue to be useful landmarks today. Eleven of these structures remain, many still functioning as automated, unmanned beacons.

With its lighthouse and 89-foot tower, Cana Island may be the most striking and photographed of the collection.

Located near Baileys Harbor, the island is accessible by a rocky causeway. The island is now a county park.

Across the Peninsula, on the Green Bay side, stands Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, built in 1868. This light was critical to guiding vessels through the Strawberry Channel, safe passage to the ports of Fish Creek and Egg Harbor.

An almost identical light was built the same year on nearby Chambers Island.

Now fully restored by the Door County Historical Society, Eagle Bluff was home to keeper William Duclon, a Civil War veteran who, with his wife, Julia, raised seven sons there over a span of 35 years.

Door County's first lighthouse stands on the county's northernmost location, Rock Island State Park. Called Pottawatomie Light, it was erected in 1836, later to be rebuilt.

In 1858, the U.S. Lighthouse Board built the Pilot Island light on a tiny 3.5-acre island that marks the eastern end of the infamous (and treacherous) Death's Door Passage, between the Door Peninsula mainland and Washington Island.

The lights at Baileys Harbor (1869) and on Plum Island (1895) are really “range lights,” two widely separated lights that appear to line up together when a ship is safely entering the narrow channel into a port.

In 1983, Sherwood Point Lighthouse, west of Sturgeon Bay, became the last Great Lakes lighthouse to be automated by the Coast Guard, ending a storied era of navigation on the inland seas.

Three of these historic lighthouses are open to visitors.

The Door County Maritime Museum and Lighthouse Preservation Society operates Cana Island Lighthouse. It is open seven days a week 10 a.m.-5 p.m., mid-May through late October. Take Highway Q north from Baileys Harbor to Cana Island Road. Admission is charged to the keeper's house as well as to the tower, which is being opened for the first time this year.

Eagle Bluff Lighthouse is located on the Shore Road in Peninsula State Park near Fish Creek. The building is fully restored with period and original artifacts. Half-hour guided tours are given and visitors can climb the tower to view the original fifth order Fresnel lens.

Admission is charged and a park admission sticker is required for vehicles. Eagle Bluff will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends from mid-May through mid-June, then daily to the end of October.

Pottawatomie Light on Rock Island has undergone significant renovation through the Friends of Rock Island. Visiting hours are maintained from Memorial weekend through Columbus Day weekend. Hours are 10-4 daily. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. The island is accessible via ferry from Washington Island.