Copper Harbor Light

Copper Harbor Light
Location	9879 Woodland Rd. (Grant Township), Copper Harbor, Michigan
Coordinates	47°28′28.1″N 87°51′36.9″W / 47.474472°N 87.860250°W
Tower
Constructed	1848
Construction	brick
Automated	1919
Height	Tower - 42 feet (13 m)
Shape	square
Markings	White skeleton tower w/black lantern
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place, Michigan state historic site
Light
First lit	1866
Focal height	90 feet (27 m)
Lens	Fourth order Fresnel lens (original), 12-inch (300 mm) (current)
Range	21 nautical miles (39 km; 24 mi); 18 nautical miles (33 km; 21 mi) adjacent tower
Characteristic	Fl Green, 6 sec
	Copper Harbor Light Station
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Michigan State Historic Site
Built	1866
NRHP reference No.	12000305
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	June 7, 2012
Designated MSHS	February 22, 1974

The Copper Harbor Light is a lighthouse located in the harbor of Copper Harbor, Michigan USA on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Upper Michigan inside Fort Wilkins Historic State Park.^[3]^[1]^[4] It is a Michigan State Historic Site and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History[edit]

The Copper Harbor Lighthouse was built on the tip of the eastern point of land that hugs the harbor. The lighthouse aided in the transport of copper from the Upper Peninsula. Ships carrying immigrants, supplies, and equipment increased dramatically.^[5]

Funding to build the light was approved in 1847. The first tower was constructed in 1848 and resembled that at Old Presque Isle Lighthouse.^[5] The Stone Masonry was dismantled, and the stones used as the foundation for the replacement lighthouse built in 1866.^[6]

The current lightkeeper's dwelling house is a survivor of the first light tower. An improved lighthouse, which also survives, was raised in 1866 three years before the installation of the Copper Harbor Front Range Light and the Copper Harbor Rear Range Light. The steel light tower in current use went into service in 1933.

The station was established in 1849. A Fresnel lens was installed in 1856. The current tower was first lit in 1866. It is no longer operational. It was automated in 1919, and deactivated in 1933. The foundation materials are dressed stone and timer, and the building was made of brick. The tower is square. The color is "natural with black lantern." A keeper's house is attached.^[3]

In 1933, the light itself was removed from the lighthouse, and placed on the adjacent 62-foot (19 m) tall white skeleton tower,^[4] which has a focal plane of 90 feet (27 m). It has a range of 14 nautical miles (26 km; 16 mi).^[1]

On February 22, 1974, the lighthouse was designated a Michigan State Historic Site.^[7] On June 7, 2012, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[2]

Present[edit]

The Copper Harbor Lighthouse is currently (as of 2006) operated as a unit of the Michigan Department of History, Arts, and Libraries. It is open to the public in summer months and features a museum about the lighthouse and Lake Superior maritime history. Other buildings on the location include a detached 1849 dwelling house, which functioned as a storage and oil house.^[8]

A lighthouse tour is available, complete with a ride on a wooden double-ender launch.^[9] The boat leaves from the Municipal pier in Copper Harbor, typically taking 15 minutes to reach the point.^[10]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2012. p. 144.
^ ^a ^b "June 15, 2012 Listings". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Michigan". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
^ ^a ^b Rowlett, Russ (2013-04-23). "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Western Lower Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
^ ^a ^b Photographs Copper Harbor Light, Lighthouse Central, The Ultimate Guide to Upper Michigan Lighthouses by Jerry Roach (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - 2007). ISBN 978-0-9747977-2-4.
^ Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Copper Harbor Lighthouse.
^ Staff. "Copper Harbor Lighthouse". State Historic Preservation Office. Michigan State Housing Development Authority. Archived from the original on December 24, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
^ National Park Service, Maritime History Project, Inventory of Historic Lights, Copper Harbor Light.
^ Copper Harbor Lighthouse tour. Archived 2008-05-12 at the Wayback Machine
^ Wobser, David, Boatnerd.com Copper Harbor Light. Archived 2008-07-25 at the Wayback Machine

External links[edit]

Anderson, Kraig, Lighthouse Friends, Copper Harbor Light
Aerial photos, Copper Harbor Light, marinas.com
Copper Harbor Lighthouse Tours
Copper Harbor Lighthouse, information from Michigan Historical Center, including a virtual tour
Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. MI-92, "Copper Harbor Light, Hays Pointat end of Norland Trail, Copper Harbor, Keweenaw County, MI", 6 photos, 10 data pages, 2 photo caption pages
Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses. Detroit News
Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
National Park Service Maritime History, Inventory of Historic Lights, Copper Harbor Light
Photographs, Directions, Waypoints and History from Lighthouse Central
Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Copper Harbor Light
Wobser, David, Boatnerd.com Copper Harbor Light

[cgll-1] Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2012. p. 144.

[NRHP_newlisting-2] "June 15, 2012 Listings". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved June 23, 2012.

[cghist-3] "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Michigan". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.

[rowlett-4] Rowlett, Russ (2013-04-23). "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Western Lower Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

[Roach-5] Photographs Copper Harbor Light, Lighthouse Central, The Ultimate Guide to Upper Michigan Lighthouses by Jerry Roach (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - 2007). ISBN 978-0-9747977-2-4.

[6] Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Copper Harbor Lighthouse.

[mich-7] Staff. "Copper Harbor Lighthouse". State Historic Preservation Office. Michigan State Housing Development Authority. Archived from the original on December 24, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2012.

[nps.gov-8] National Park Service, Maritime History Project, Inventory of Historic Lights, Copper Harbor Light.

[9] Copper Harbor Lighthouse tour. Archived 2008-05-12 at the Wayback Machine

[10] Wobser, David, Boatnerd.com Copper Harbor Light. Archived 2008-07-25 at the Wayback Machine

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v t e Lighthouses in Michigan
Main: List of lighthouses in the United States
Northern Upper Peninsula	Au Sable Big Bay Point Copper Harbor Copper Harbor Front Range Crisp Point Eagle Harbor Eagle Harbor Range Lights Eagle River Fourteen Mile Point Grand Island East Channel Grand Island Harbor Rear Range Grand Island North Grand Marais Range Lights Granite Island Gull Rock Huron Island Isle Royale Manitou Island Marquette Breakwater Outer Marquette Harbor Mendota (Bete Grise) Munising Front Range Munising Rear Range Ontonagon Ontonagon Harbor West Breakwater Portage River (Jacobsville) Passage Island Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light Rock Harbor Rock of Ages Sand Hills Sand Point Light (Baraga) St. Martin Island Stannard Rock Thunder Bay Island Whitefish Point
Southern Upper Peninsula	DeTour Reef Lansing Shoals Manistique East Breakwater Martin Reef Menominee Pier Minneapolis Shoal Naubinway Island Peninsula Point Poverty Island Sand Point Seul Choix Squaw Island St. Martin Island
St. Mary's River	Frying Pan Island Pipe Island Point Iroquois Round Island Light (St. Mary's River) Six Mile Point Range Rear Winter Point Range Front
Portage River/Ship Canal	Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Keweenaw Waterway Upper Entrance Portage Lake Rouleau Point Range Front and Rear Lights
Straits of Mackinac	Bois Blanc McGulpin Point Old Mackinac Point Round Island Round Island Passage St. Helena Island Wawatam
Western Lower Peninsula	Beaver Island Harbor Beaver Island Head Big Sable Point Cedar River Charlevoix Charlevoix South Pier Frankfort Frankfort South Range Grand Haven North Pierhead Grand Haven South Pierhead Entrance Grand Haven South Pierhead Inner Grand Traverse Grays Reef Holland Harbor Ile Aux Galets Little Sable Point Little Traverse Ludington Manistee Pierhead Manning Memorial Mission Point Mission Point (1933) Muskegon Breakwater Muskegon Pier North Manitou Shoal Pentwater North Pierhead Pentwater South Pierhead Point Betsie Portage Lake South Fox Island South Haven South Manitou Island St. Joseph North Pier Inner St. Joseph North Pier Outer Waugoshance White River White Shoal
Eastern Lower Peninsula	Alpena Caseville Harbor Charity Island Cheboygan Crib Cheboygan River Front Range Detroit River Fort Gratiot Forty Mile Point Fourteen Foot Shoal Gibraltar Gravelly Shoal Harbor Beach Lake St. Clair Mariners Memorial Middle Island Miller Memorial New Presque Isle Old Presque Isle Peche Island Rear Range Poe Reef Pointe aux Barques Port Austin Port Sanilac Saginaw Bay Saginaw River Rear Range Spectacle Reef St. Clair Flats Front and Rear Range Light Sturgeon Point Tawas Point Thunder Bay Island Tri-Centennial Light of Detroit William Livingstone Memorial Windmill Point
Historical (lost) lights	Au Sable North Pierhead Belle Isle Clinton River Ecorse Ecorse Range Rear Gibraltar Grassy Island Grassy Island North Channel Range Lights Grassy Island South Channel Range Lights Grosse Ile North Channel Range Lights Grosse Ile South Channel Range Lights Harwood Point East Range Front Kalamazoo River Mama Juda Mama Juda Range Front Manistee Main Middle Lake George Monroe Pier New Buffalo North Manitou Island Saginaw Bay Sand Beach North Entrance East Squaw Point St. Mary's River Lower Range Front Vidal Shoals Channel Range Front and Rear Lights Windmill Point Range Front and Rear Lights
Related	Lightship Huron List of lifesaving stations in Michigan Wixom Lake, Musselman Island lighthouse

v t e National Register of Historic Places in Keweenaw County, Michigan
Historic districts	Central Mine Historic District Eagle River Historic District Fort Wilkins Johns Hotel Keweenaw Mountain Lodge and Golf Course Complex Minong Traditional Cultural Property Minong Mine Historic District Tobin Harbor Historic District
Historic properties	SS Algoma SS America (1898) Brockway Mountain Drive Central Mine Methodist Church SS Chester A. Congdon Church of the Assumption Copper Harbor Light PS Cumberland Eagle Harbor Coast Guard Station Boathouse Eagle Harbor Light Eagle Harbor Schoolhouse Edisen Fishery SS Emperor USS Puritan (ID-2222) SS Glenlyon Gull Rock Light Station SS Henry Chisholm Holy Redeemer Church Houghton County Traction Company Ahmeek Streetcar Station Ishpeming Fire Tower Isle Royale Light SS Kamloops M-26–Cedar Creek Culvert M-26–Silver River Culvert Manitou Island Light Station SS Monarch New Feldtmann Fire Tower Ojibway Fire Tower Passage Island Light Rock Harbor Light Rock of Ages Light Sand Hills Light US 41–Fanny Hooe Creek Bridge
See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Keweenaw County, Michigan and List of National Historic Landmarks in Michigan

History[edit]

Present[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]