Wisconsin Point, Wisconsin
Harbour Lights #653
Collector Forums Exclusive

Known by the United States Coast Guard as the South Breakwater Light, Wisconsin Point is located on the entry to Superior Harbor jutting out from a three-mile piece of land. The Light remains an active aid to navigation.

Offshore is the reputedly longest freshwater sand bar in the world, stretching between the twin ports of Duluth, MN and Superior, WI. The ten-mile long bar is split by a natural opening in its center. The bar on the Minnesota side is known as Minnesota Point and on the Wisconsin side as Wisconsin Point. This natural opening, first charted in 1861, was 1500 feet wide with a depth of 4 to 16 feet.

The Superior entry has been modified a number of times by the Army Corps of Engineers to accommodate the large number of ships using the harbor. After the entry was dredged in 1872, traffic to Duluth no longer needed to enter the harbor through the circuitous gap, allowing the entry to be used solely for Superior traffic.

In 1879, with the construction of protective wood piers on both sides of the entry, a wood-framed pierhead beacon was established on the north side. The beacon was exhibited on September 1st of that same year. The Army Corps of Engineers continued to dredge and enlarge the opening. For a short time, the pierhead light was deactivated and the old Minnesota Point Light was reactivated as the work continued.

A decision was made to relocate the beacon to the longer south side with the construction of an elevated walkway from the shore to provide the Keeper with safe access during stormy weather. Since the old Minnesota Point dwelling was no longer conveniently located, plans to build a new duplex Keeper’s dwelling were drawn up. A $5,500 appropriation was made for the establishment of a fog signal at the entry.

In the summer of 1883, work began on the transformation of the Superior entry. A duplex dwelling with a six-room apartment, one on each side, was built. A boathouse, barn and 360-gallon brick oil storage building were connected with walkways and enclosed with a picket fence.

In 1893, a steam-powered fog signal was added, as was a second light in 1898. Plans were made to replace the old wooden piers by concrete piers and two concrete breakwaters added outside the piers. The newly formed Lighthouse Establishment decided to erect the fog signal and light at the south entry. In July of 1911, with an appropriation of $45,000, the Army Corps of Engineers completed an 11 ½-foot high concrete base for the new South Breakwater Pierhead Light. Contracts awarded in June 1912 saw construction begin immediately.

Vaulted cellar rooms were in the concrete foundation of the Main Light and were used for oil storage and held a tank for drinking water. The oblong, two-story main structure was reinforced concrete with rounded ends.

The first deck housed a pair of compressors powered by 22-horsepower inline gasoline engines to supply air to the fog signal, a steam heating plant, toilet and cold storage. The second floor had three bedrooms, kitchen, living room and a bath.

A circular tower, on the offshore end, also had two floors. The first floor had a pair of six-inch air sirens, the second a service room. A copper-roofed circular lantern room with helical astragals housed a Fourth Order Fresnel lens with a rotating screen. The rotating screen imparted a repeated isophase light with a characteristic of 5 seconds of light followed by 5 seconds of darkness. The 2,900 candlepower lamp, some 70’ above lake level, could be seen for 16 miles on a clear day.

Automated in 1970, a modern aero beacon still sends its green light 22 miles across the lake every 5 seconds.