Lighthouse and Falls

Saturday, October 3, 2015

Fall has definitely arrived in upper Michigan, it was in the low 40s this morning, cloudy with a brisk northerly breeze.  So we layered on the clothes and headed for our two objectives today.  The first was the Whitefish Point Light Station which also houses the Ship Wreck Museum.  If you have your Michigan Map handy, look for a point of land in the eastern UP about 50 miles west of Sault Saint Marie.

This little point of land seems to attract ship wrecks, partly because it lies on the course ships take as they position for entrance to the Locks and partly because a northerly blow will send ships onto the shores here.  Due to over 40 wrecks that have occurred here, a lighthouse was erected in 1861. The lighthouse went through several changes during its life.  It is an active light and is now automated with a constant white light.

In 1923, a Lifeboat Rescue Service was established here, partially because the lighthouse keepers were often involved in rescues taking them away from their keeper duties, but also they and the volunteers they summoned were not properly trained or equipped to handle rescues. 

In 1939 the Lifeboat Rescue and operation of the lighthouse came under control of the US Coast Guard.  The Lifeboat Rescue Service was discontinued in 1951, as most wrecks were now occurring too far offshore for a shore service to be of benefit.  In 1970, the lighthouse was automated and all personnel were removed from the site.

As usual, when they automated the light, they trashed the original 4th order Fresnel lens.  No one knows its whereabouts.  The original lamp was a wick lamp burning kerosene.

If it existed, this is what the lantern would look like.

The light station property was leased to Great Lakes Shipwreck Society in 1985 and restoration of the facility has been underway every since.  The Shipwreck Museum was established in 1996.

The signature piece in the museum is the bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald, which sunk in November 1975.  The wreck lies about 17 miles north of the museum.

The museum documents many of the wrecks identified in the Whitefish Point area.  It was surprising to us how many wrecks were collisions.  We were told that the shipping business was crazy around the turn of the century.  Strong competition, reckless operation, and the pure number of ships at sea resulted in many shipwrecks. 

The GLSWS dives and documents shipwrecks in the area.  The equipment they have today to make this possible is amazing.  The Neutsuit makes deep and lengthy dives possible.  The Fitzgerald is in 530 feet of water.  This suit allows divers to go to those depths.

 

Of course we took the climb up the lighthouse.  The view was awesome, but 45 degrees with 25 mph wind made it a short stay.

 

Next stop was Tahquamenon Falls State Park.  The Tahquamenon River was a vital link for the booming logging industry here. Logging occurred here in the winter so they could use sleds on ice roads.  They were then stored on the river banks until spring when they would be floated out to Superior for further transport.  Guess what happens when a whole bunch of logs go over a waterfall.  Yep, they turn into a pile of tangled sticks.  It was not unusual to see a 60 foot high log jam at the base of the falls. How they managed to get the mess straightened out is beyond us.

No logs today, just beautiful falls.  Actually there are several falls.  A high falls shown here.

 

Then further downstream, an island splits the river.  The are five falls, but you need to get over to the island by boat to see the three you cannot see from the mainland.

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That pretty much completed our day.  Tomorrow we are headed to Iroquois Point and another lighthouse.  Time to get home for some hot coffee!