Pilot Island and US Coast Guard Lifesaving Station of Door County is a photograph by Carol Toepke which was uploaded on July 19th, 2013.
Pilot Island and US Coast Guard Lifesaving Station of Door County
Plum Island is an island at the western shore of Lake Michigan in the southern part of the town of Washington in Door County, Wisconsin. The... more
by Carol Toepke
Title
Pilot Island and US Coast Guard Lifesaving Station of Door County
Artist
Carol Toepke
Medium
Photograph - Digital Image
Description
Plum Island is an island at the western shore of Lake Michigan in the southern part of the town of Washington in Door County, Wisconsin. The uninhabited island has a land area of about 291 acres. Porte des Morts, or Death’s Door, is a narrow strait separating the tip of Door County Peninsula from a collection of islands that extends north to Michigan’s upper peninsula. These islands, which include Plum Island, Detroit Island, Washington Island, Rock Island, St. Martin Island, Summer Island, and Poverty Island, form a dividing line between Green Bay and Lake Michigan, and in 1837 a lighthouse, the first on Lake Michigan, was built on Rock Island to guide vessels through Rock Island Passage. This northern passage was convenient for vessels traveling between the Straits of Mackinac and Green Bay, but as Milwaukee and Chicago grew in importance, traffic from these ports preferred taking the more southerly Death’s Door Passage to Green Bay, as it saved significant time. Plum Island is located in the middle of "Deaths Door" and chosen as the more popular shipping lane that has been home to a graveyard for hundreds of shipwrecks off the island's shores. The Front and Rear Range Lights were part of the United States Life-Saving Station that was established on Plum Island in 1896. The lights were originally lit in 1897 and are 1,650 feet (500 m) apart, aligned on a 330° bearing line to guide boats safely into the Porte des Morts Passage. The Plum Island front range light was originally identical to the front range light of the Baileys Habor Range Lights, but was replaced by a modern skeletal light in 1964. The rear range light is the original tower and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, as the Plum Island Range Rear Light, reference number #84003659. The front light is directional, aligned on 330.5 degrees true. The rear light is omnidirectional and still has its original 4th order Fresnel Lens. Over a half mile of wooden walkways were laid to connect the keepers’ dwelling with the various outbuildings. It was soon apparent, however, that the light was located too far inside the passage, and in 1858 a lighthouse was built on tiny Pilot Island, situated 1.7 miles to the southeast, and the lighthouse on Plum Island was abandoned. Even with a light on Pilot Island, mariners still found it difficult to determine the correct turning point for entering Porte des Morts Passage. In 1889, Captain William Nicholson, who regularly sailed between Green Bay and Chicago with the Peshtigo Barge Line, suggested that a pair of range lights be built on Plum Island to indicate the proper bearing for entering the dangerous passage. Pilot Island and Plum Island were two of four Wisconsin properties turned over by the US Coast Guard to the United States Bureau of Land Management and both islands were finally transferred to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 2007 and became part of the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Significant numbers of nesting colonial birds, comorants, are found on both the islands.The lighthouse keeper's house and Coast Guard station were listed as being among Wisconsin's ten most endangered historic properties in April 2000. All of the maritime structures on Plum Island were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. The Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands, Inc. have partnered with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to restore the life-saving station on Plum Island. They accomplished lead paint abatement and repainting of the historic boathouse in the summer of 2010.
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July 19th, 2013
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