Lighthouses of Door County
Door County, with hundreds of miles of coastline, has long offered a challenge to ships that approach the land. Even with the aid of lighthouses and life-saving stations, the maritime history of the county is one of tragic shipwrecks and loss of life. The rocky coastline of Door County, 70 miles in length and boasting 11 lighthouses, is a testimony of the need for these lonely outposts.
The most photographed lighthouse in Door County, and possibly the Midwest, is the Cana Island Lighthouse that sits boldly on a small island north of Baileys Harbor.
Cana Island is everything we imagine a lighthouse should be. Isolated on windswept Cana Island, it surveys the rugged coastline and the occasional furious temper of Lake Michigan. Now a county park, the island and lighthouse are accessible from land and open to the public seasonally for a small fee. The light tower is also open (for an additional fee), providing a stunning view of the lake’s shoreline.
Nearby, the Baileys Harbor Range Lights are situated off Ridges Road in Baileys Harbor. The range lights served as a replacement to the poorly placed, but still standing, “bird cage” or Old Baileys Harbor Lighthouse. The Baileys Harbor Range Lights were used by sailors entering the well-protected harbor from 1869 to 1969. Lining up the two range lights, sailors were assured that they were headed for safe water.
To the north of the Peninsula, a number of lighthouses and life-saving stations surround Washington Island and warn unsuspecting sailors to the dangers of Death’s Door.
Potawatomie Lighthouse, originally built in 1836, before Wisconsin became a state, and then replaced in 1858, sits on the northern-most tip of Rock Island State Park upon a high bluff. The Friends of Rock Island spearheaded efforts to preserve and restore the lighthouse. Like Cana, it maintains regular visiting hours in-season.
Plum Island’s Range Lights were the first designed as a navigational aid for the entrance of Port des Morts, or Death’s Door. In response to the number of shipwrecks in the area, Plum Island also housed a life-saving station, which was eventually abandoned and has since fallen into disrepair, but the range lights continue to guide sailors through the area.
The Pilot Island Lighthouse was the answer to guarding the eastern entrance to Death’s Door and is rumored to have witnessed the most shipwrecks of any lighthouse on the Great Lakes. This lighthouse has also fallen into disrepair.
Along the Green Bay waters coastline, Chambers Island Lighthouse, Eagle Bluff Lighthouse and Sherwood Point light protect unwary mariners. In 1868, when Eagle Bluff lighthouse was built it was badly needed at this location, which is now situated inside Peninsula Park. Its location and an ambitious restoration job by the Door County Historical Society make the lighthouse a popular tourist destination with regular docent-led tours offered for a for small fee in-season.
A lighthouse almost identical to Eagle Bluff’s was built on Chambers Island in the same year to guide ships using the west channel. In 1976, the Chambers Island Lighthouse was deeded to the town of Gibraltar and the following year the lighthouse and grounds were opened to the public. The remarkable condition of the lighthouse is due to the restorative efforts of Joel and Mary Blahnik.
On top of a 30-foot limestone bluff, the Sherwood Point Lighthouse was built in 1880 to guide ships as they made their way, not only along the Door County coastline, but also as they entered Sturgeon Bay. Manned until the 1940’s, it has the distinction of being the last manned lighthouse on the Great Lakes. On the other end of the shipping lane which spans the length of Sturgeon Bay is the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Light Station, an active United States Coast Guard Station kept busy by the activity prompted by the one-mile man-made canal built in the late 19th Century to connect Sturgeon Bay and Lake Michigan. It actually has a pair of lights – a tower on the grounds and a pier light to guide ships into the canal.
