Manitou Island Light Station
The Manitou Island Light Station is a lighthouse located on Manitou Island, off the tip of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Manitou Island Light Station consists of a skeletal steel light tower with associated keeper's house, outbuildings, and various walkways and foundations. The tower base measures 26 feet (7.9 m) square at the base and is 17.5 feet (5.3 m) high. The base supports a 42.5 feet (13.0 m) high skeletal tower, atop which is a cast iron ten-sided watch room and ten-sided lantern. A circular staircase covered with iron and lined with wood provides access to the watchtower. The original lens was a Third Order Fresnel Made by Le Paute of Paris and had six separate panels, each with a bull's eye prism. The current lens is also a Third Order Fresnel, with four panels inscribed P. Barbier and Co., Paris.
The keeper's house is a ten-room, two-story frame structure on a stone foundation. It is sided with asbestos shingles (likely from the 1930s) and shingled with asphalt. The interior still has some original doors and woodwork, but much of the wall material and flooring are modern additions.
The first lighthouse on Manitou Island was a rubble-stone tower built in 1850. In 1861, the current light replaced it (one of three built that year with iron structure by the West Point Foundry in New York; the other two were De Tour Reef and Whitefish Point lights, the latter of which still stands and it and Manitou are the oldest iron skeletal light towers on the Great Lakes); the keeper's house was built the same year. A fog signal was added in 1871, and buildings to house it in 1875. These signals were refurbished in 1899. In 1895, an oil house was added, in 1901 a boathouse, and in 1930 a concrete fog signal building was constructed, replacing the earlier one. It is the oldest iron skeletal light tower on the Great Lakes.
The light was automated in 1978, and is still in use as a navigational aid. In 2004, the Keweenaw Land Trust acquired the light from the United States Government, along with surrounding land, under the auspices of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. The area is open to the public, and is available for camping, rock collecting, hiking, boating, sea kayaking, fishing, and sightseeing.
This cache is located just off one of the many trails located in Sleepy Hollow State Park and was placed for the 6th Annual Camp MiGO event. Most of the trails are well groomed and hard packed making a bike a great way to get to the caches in the area. Keep in mind during hunting season to be aware of hunters in the area. Hunting is allowed from September 15 until April 1st each year, so please be careful and dress appropriately when hunting is allowed.
A Recreation Passport is required for all vehicles entering Sleepy Hollow State Park. They are available for $19.00 at the park. Camping is available for the event at: www.midnrreservations.com. The park closes to visitors at 10PM.
This Geocache placed by a proud MiGO Lake Superior Member.