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| Gull Island Light | Seeing The Light |
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Historical Information Considering various alternatives to warn mariners of the danger that the ledge represented, in 1906 the Lighthouse Board recommended that Congress appropriate the sum of $85,000 for the construction of a light and fog signal to mark the tiny island. Unfamiliar with the practicalities of the situation, Congress referred the matter to the Department of Commerce for additional investigation. In its response, of February 1, 1907, the Department of Commerce reported favorably on the proposal, noting in part that "Several vessels have run aground in this vicinity during storms. If there had been a light and fog-signal there, the wrecks might have been prevented."
On June 17, 1910, Congress passed an act approving the construction of the new station on Michigan Island. However with the unsettled atmosphere surrounding that year's abolishment of the Lighthouse Board and the transfer of responsibility for the nation's aids to the newly formed Bureau of Lighthouses under George R Putnam, no expenditure was approved. However, Putnam evidently concurred with the need for the new station, and reiterated the plea for the appropriation in his annual reports for each of the following eight years. In 1918, plans were underway for the installation of a pole light at Schooner Ledge Rear Range Light on the Delaware River in Pennsylvania. With the erection of the new automated light, the old 112-foot cast iron skeletal tower would no longer serve any purpose. Determining that the cast iron tower was in excellent condition, the Bureau of Lighthouses proposed that the old tower be disassembled and shipped to the Eleventh District for re-erection on Michigan island, thereby eliminating a large portion of the cost associated with building the new coast light there. The Michigan Island plan was thus modified to include a radio beacon instead of the more expensive diaphone fog signal and the construction of an unmanned acetylene light on Gull Island, thus reducing the total estimated costs for construction to $85,000. Congress finally came through with the appropriation in 1928, and work began that same year on both Michigan and Gull Islands. Of the total appropriation, $9,495 was allocated to the construction of the unmanned light on Gull Island.
The light continued to operate under
acetylene power until some time in the 1950's, when it was electrified.
Today, a 250 mm 12 volt DC solar-powered optic flashes the same
10-second characteristic seven miles across Superior, warning the many
pleasure boaters who now throng the area every summer of the danger
lurking just beneath the water surface. With a slight breeze
from the east, we quickly became aware of the strong odor emanating from
the island, and quickly shot a few photographs before turning to head
for the cleaner air of open water, leaving the island "for the
birds." |
Wary of such a large appropriation, on
May 14, 1908 Congress instead allocated $2,000 to fund a complete survey
of the area, and Eleventh Lighthouse District Engineer Major Charles
Keller dispatched a survey crew, which completed its' work that
September. Upon evaluation of the crew's findings, Keller modified his
plan, recommending in his annual report for 1909 that the easterly end
of Michigan Island would in fact represent a preferable site for an
improved light and fog signal, and requested that the amount of the
appropriation be increased to $100,000 to cover the associated costs.
Consisting
of an open 50-foot tall skeletal iron structure, the metal work was
painted black to increase its effectiveness as a daymark. A 375 mm
acetylene powered light was installed atop the structure, emitting 390
candlepower and sitting 55-feet above the lake's surface, the light was
visible for a distance of 13 miles in clear weather conditions. Equipped
with an automatic sun valve, the light was to operate untended. Designed
to automatically shot off the flow of gas with the warmth of day and
reopen the flow at dusk, the sun valves proved cantankerous, requiring
frequent re-lighting and adjustment. As a result, maintenance of the
light was added to the list of responsibilities for the Michigan Island
Light keepers, who were required to observe and record the visibility of
the light on a daily basis and to either make necessary repairs
themselves or notify the appropriate personnel in Duluth of any problems
encountered that were beyond their own ability to solve.