Sand Island Lighthouse
09 May 2017 | Washington DC
Becky/80 degrees, sunny & beautiful
We will be lighthouse keepers for one month starting in the middle of June. It is the Sand Island Lighthouse. One of the Apostil Island lighthouses built in 1881, Lake Superior, Wisconsin. We are very excited about this volunteer position and we will blog about our experience.
Here is some history:
Sand Island lighthouse, near the western end of the Apostle Island chain, was occupied for a shorter period than any of the archipelago's other lights. Built in 1881, it was the first of the group to be automated, in 1921.
Considered by many to be one of the most beautiful lighthouses on Lake Superior, the structure was built from sandstone quarried right at the building site. The design of the lighthouse was influenced by the Gothic style, popular during the Victorian period. The light tower begins as a square rising from the northwest corner of the dwelling, then gracefully flows into an octagon surmounted by the lantern and walkway. Carved wood trim decorates the steeply sloped gable end of the quarters. A fourth-order Fresnel lens produced a fixed white light from the top of the 44-foot tall tower.
Becky