Type:
Year Established:
1858
Existing:
Yes
Source:
LL-1901
Download:
Eagle River MI 2009 TAT.jpeg (325.21 KB)
File Type:
jpeg (image/jpeg)
Photo Date:
2009
Photo Credit:
Thomas Tag
Photo Courtesy of:
US Lighthouse Society Archives
Collection / Donor:
LOCATION
Location:
EAGLE RIVER/LAKE SUPERIOR
Latitude:
47° 24'53"
Longitude:
88° 17'34"
City / Town:
EAGLE RIVER
U.S. State:
Michigan
Location County:
KEWEENAW
Country:
United States
OWNER & ACCESS
Open to Public:
No
STRUCTURE
Year Discontinued:
1909
Year Tower Established:
1874
Tower Construction Material:
STONE
Height of light above mean high water, in feet:
61 FT ABOVE WATER
Height, in feet, from base of structure to center of lantern:
24 FT
Tower Shape:
SQUARE W/CONICAL LANTERN
Fog Signal Building?:
No
Keeper's Quarters?:
Yes
Year Keeper's Quarters:
1874
Keeper's Quarters Style:
INTEGRAL TO TOWER
Keeper's Quarters Construction:
STONE
OPTICS
Current Optic:
NONE
Year Original Lens Installed:
1858
Private Aid:
No
USCG Access to Optics:
No
Entered by:
Entered Date:
Jul 20, 2017
Historical Information:
1850: Congress appropriated the $6500 to build the Eagle River Light Station.
1857: It took three years to get a clear title to the land and the lighthouse wasn’t complete until 1857.
The District Inspector refused to accept the light station when it was first complete, citing the station was not built “in conformity to the terms of the contract”. The actual discrepancies were not documented but changes were made and the District Inspector accepted the light after a second inspection.
The brick station had a one and half story yellow keeper’s house with a twelve foot tower in the northeast corner. It was fitted with a sixth order Fresnel lens.
1867: Large cracks formed in the base of the tower. The funds to build a replacement were appropriated but later withdrawn. Repeated requests were made for the funds but only patch and repair work was completed.
1884: The repair work was finally done and the station was once again in good working order.
Eagle River was the only lighthouse between the Keweenaw Waterway and Eagle Harbor. When the copper boom ended in the 1870’s the Eagle River harbor started to decay. By the 1890’s, it seemed the only ship coming into the harbor was the lighthouse service tender. It was recommended to build a new lighthouse at Sand Hills where most of the lake traffic was traveling and to decommission Eagle River.
1908: The light station was decommissioned and sold at a public auction in August of that year. The light station remains in private hands.