Door County, Wisconsin - Chapter 25: Door County Lighthouses, 1917

Chapter 25: Door County Lighthouses

Door County has a shore line of 200 miles, not counting the innumerable bays and inlets which indent its shores. This shore line is faced with reefs and headlands and along its front are scores of hidden shoals and many dangerous passages. For many years quite as much of Door County's history was enacted on the water as on land. The many hundred fishermen daily watched the vagaries of the sea and the sea captains, traveling in these waters with their cargoes of forest products, learned to respect the sudden gales on Green Bay, the treacherous squalls in the Door and the big storms of Lake Michigan. The passage through the Door was particularly dreaded. 'To lose a deckload in making the passage was so ordinary an event as not to be worthy of mention. I have before me the diary of the lighthouse keeper of Pilot Island, kept from 1872 to 1889. It appears from the entries in this journal that their daily diet consisted of winds and roaring seas with a shipwreck at least twice a week as a piece de resistance. It seemed the regular thing in those days of many sails to ground on a shoal, throw off the deckload and then work loose. Frequently the keeper or one of his assistants leaves the station to get the mail from Washington Harbor and is unable to return for three weeks. Owing to the extremely exposed position of this little rock in the sea it is practically inaccessible in any storm. In the fall of 1872 he reports eight large vessels stranded or shipwrecked in the Door in one week. The preceding year, 1871, almost one hundred vessels were lost or seriously damaged in passing through the Door.

The greatest storm of present memory occurred October 16, 1880. Tt started to blow from the southeast on the evening of October 15th and continued for three days. The waves ran so high that at the Cana Island Lighthouse, then kept by William A. Sanderson, the sea frequently broke over the house. The lantern at a height of eightyeight feet was at times completely covered with spray from the huge waves.

vessels were driven on the rocky beaches of Plum Island and Detroit Island and were seriously damaged, many of them being a total loss. At Baileys Harbor seven large vessels were stranded, two being a totalloss. In North Bay a large fleet had sought refuge from the storm. The vessels were mostly of the larger class and were either bound for Buffalo with grain or were on their way from that port to Chicago with coal and other supplies. About fifty of these vessels crowded into the little harbor during the storm. Some of them made the harbor safely and anchored. As the storm continued to increase in violence many of these dragged their anchors and were driven ashore. Here the waves washed over them and it was necessary to jettison the cargoes to keep the decks from bursting. As more and more vessels came in there were a number of collisions and several large vessels were total wrecks and were abandoned. The crew from one of these vessels was rescued in such a daring manner by one of the fishermen on shore that mention must here be made of it.

At 5 o'clock in the afternoon a large schooner named Two Friends attempted to enter the bay. A part of her canvas having blown away she could not be kept on her course but drifted on the outer point where she struck the limestone ledge in twelve feet of water, there being twenty-four feet of water on her seaward side. The first sea that swept over her after she grounded tore her yawlboat from its davits and carried it away. The crew attached lines to fenders and tried to send them to the shore but the current was so strong past the point that the plan failed. The tremendous sea soon broke up the deck and sent the main and mizzen masts overboard, whereupon the crew of seven men took refuge in the forward rigging which still held firm. Their cries for help were plainly heard on shore but the sea was running so high that none of the men assembled on the shore dared to launch a boat in the face of such immense breakers. 'There was one man, however, upon whom the appeals for assistance made so strong an impression that he determined to risk his life in an attempt to rescue the doomed crew. This was James Larson. He obtained a light skiff from William Marshall and a line long enough to reach to the vessel which was about six hundred feet from the shore. By the time his preparations were made it was nearly 11 o'clock, but the moon was giving sufficient light to direct his course. The weather had grown very cold and it was evident that if the rescue was delayed until morning it would be too late. With the assistance of two men the boat was launched through the breakers whereupon Mr. Larson with intense exertions was able to row out to the vessel. When he came there he found all the sufferers were so chilled that none dared to trust themselves to the line and must be taken ashore in the boat if at all. The skiff was so small that only one man could be taken at a time and to avoid capsizing the passenger had to lie flat on the bottom. During this arduous rescue of the shipwrecked sailors the boat was filled with water five times and once was swamped in leaving the beach but Larson bravely continued his humane task regardless of personal danger and fatigue until the last man, the captain, was safely landed.

In recognition of this heroic deed Mr. Larson in 1886 received a gold medal from the Government inscribed "To James Larson, for heroic daring in rescuing seven men from the bark, Two Friends, October 16, 1880." The medal is of solid gold, about two inches in diameter and nearly twice the thickness of a twenty-dollar gold piece.'

In order to minimize the dangers in passing along the dangerous shore of Door County the U. S. Government has from time to time erected lighthouses at various points. There are now seventeen of these beacons besides several bell and gas buoys to guide the mariner to safety.

The first to be erected was the "Pottawatomie Light" which was erected on the northwesterly point of Rock Island in 1836 and taken in use in spring of 1837. It is the first lighthouse to be erected west of the great lakes. It is also the highest lighthouse on all the inland lakes, its lantern being 137 feet above the sea level. Its light can be seen for twenty miles. The light is suspended in a square tower on a gray stone dwelling where resides the keeper. This house is the oldest in the county. The first keeper was David E. Corbin, a former sergeant in the War of 1812.

The next lighthouse to be erected was the Pilot Island light, known as the Porte des Morts Station. This lighthouse was erected in 1850 and is a very important station, having three keepers. It is frequently enveloped in fogs which often settle here. At such times its ten-inch steam whistle roars out its powerful warning every thirty seconds. Pilot Island is'a mere rock in the sea and is a dreary place in which to stay. Victor E. Rohn, a lieutenant in the Civil war, who was chief lighthouse keeper from August, 1872, to November, 1876, makes the following observation under date of July 4, 1874:

1 James Larson was born in Denmark in 1855. He was a fisherman at North Bay at the eseue of the crew of the Two Friends. He later moved to Marinette where he He has represented Marinette County in the State

"Independence day came in fine after a heavy southeast gale. This island affords about as much independence and liberty as Libby Prison, with the difference of guards in favor of this place, and chance for outside communication in favor of the other."

Depressed by the gloom and loneliness of the island, John Boice, first assistant keeper, June 20, 1880, committed suicide by cutting his throat.

The following description of a visit to Pilot Island gives a pleasanter picture of life there. It was written by Ben Fagg and was printed in the Advocate some time in 1890.

"Pilot Island is a little island of acres of rocks and boulders on which there is an imported croquet ground, a few ornamental trees, a strawberry patch, two fog sirens, a lighthouse, a frame barn, a boathouse and some blue bell shaped flowers and golden rods that grow out of the niches in the rock. It lies about two miles east of Plum Island, which is so called because it is plumb in the center of Deaths Door.

"This is truly an isolated spot but I have spent five days on Pilot Island and they are among the happiest days of my eventuality. At sunrise every morning the first assistant, Chas. E. Young, would wake us up with an invitation to go in bathing. 'Then the keeper and second assistant and myself would leave our cosy beds, run down with him to the landing and plunge into the almost ice cold water. We would swim to the leeward of the island where the breakers meet as they come from both sides. Every few moments they would crash together and hoist us into the air in the midst of a cloud of foam and spray.

"On moonlight nights it is like being in a dream of ideality to walk alone over the moss covered rocks and listen to the swish of the breakers that break over the breakwater at the boat landing, hear them roaring on all sides of the little island and to see huge vessels under full sails crossing the moon-glade on their way through the Door. One seems to be completely separated from all that is worldly and bad. There is no field for gossip out here. The land is not suitable for general farming purposes, but it is a splendid place to raise an ample crop of good, pure thoughts.

"One of the fog sirens at this station is an exact duplicate of the one that was on exhibition at the World's Fair held in Paris. Its song can be heard at a distance of forty miles, and when it sings all the lights in the signal house must be hung by strings to prevent them from going out. The sound is so intense that no chickens can be hatched on the island, as the vibration kills them in the egg, and it causes milk to curdle in a few minutes. Visitors at the lighthouse on foggy nights sit up in bed when the siren begins its lay and look around for their resurrection robes."

The Pilot Island Lighthouse is famous for having witnessed more shipwrecks than any other lighthouse on the Great Lakes. If their number could be told it would be a legion. On this little crag and its nearby rocks and shoals scores of proud vessels have been irresistibly driven to be quickly pounded to pieces by the thundering seas. Many times the crew of the lighthouse have been called upon at the risk of their lives to save the imperiled crews. A notable example of this was the heroic rescue of the crew of the A. P. Nichols on November 9, 1892, by the keeper of the light, Martin Knudson.

The Nichols was bound from Chicago to Escanaba without cargo and was caught in a big storm. Her big anchor was no match for the gale and the schooner drifted on the rocks of Pilot Island. When she struck the waves washed clean over her.

Martin Knudson, the keeper of the light, was familiar with every rock around his storm-beaten island, and knowing the location of a shoal leading to the stranded vessel he waded out, although it was exceedingly risky to wade out over the slippery stones in the face of the big waves that came crashing in. Moreover it was 8 o'clock at night and intensely dark. However, he succeeded in almost reaching the vessel. Standing in water up to his shoulders, he finally made himself heard above the terrific roar of the sea and ordered the captain and his men to jump, one by one, and he would catch them. It seemed like suicide to jump into that foaming caldron, but in order to see if rescue was possible Captain Clow jumped first. He went in far over his head but Knudson caught him before he was sucked away by the undertow. Captain Clow remained on the shoal while Knudson rescued the next one in the same way. In this manner the entire crew of six were rescued, including a female cook and the captain's aged father, old Captain David Clow, who had suffered shipwreck about on the same spot twenty years before. When the last one had left the vessel the lighthouse man piloted them all ashore along the narrow and crowded ridge of the shoal.

Speaking of this rescue Captain Clow said later: "It is a wonder to me how Martin Knudson found his way along that ledge of rocks in the darkness of the night. He is about the bravest man I have ever seen. How he managed to keep his bearings after rescuing the crew, has been a wonder to me ever since. A single misstep and we would all have fallen off the rocks into deep water and undoubtedly been drowned."

The schooner J. C. Gilmore had stranded on the island a week before and her crew was still at the lighthouse. The addition of the crew of the Nichols made sixteen persons to feed, and for a while it looked to the men as if they had escaped drowning only to die by starvation. For a week the storms prevented any one from leaving the island. However, after a little a lull in the storm enabled the lighthonse crew to obtain some provisions from the Nichols which soon afterward went to pieces.

The Baileys Harbor Lighthouse was erected in 1852 through the activity of Alanson Sweet, a Milwaukee vessel owner who had platted a village at Baileys Harbor and caused it to be selected as the county seat. A light was therefore needed to guide the commerce which he hoped would soon flow in and out of the new metropolis. It originally was placed on the east side of the harbor near the point. This was abandoned in 1870 when two range lights were built at the head of the harbor. The old white tower of the former light, built in 1852, is still standing.

The Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, three miles north of Fish Creek, was built in 1868. The first keeper was Henry Stanley, who served until 1883. He was succeeded by William Duclon who is still at the post, having served about thirty-five years. This lighthouse was erected to mark the east passage of Green Bay.

The Chambers Island Lighthouse was built in 1868. The record is incomplete. Lewis Williams, Peder Knudson and Charles E. Young were the respective keepers up to 1895. Soren Christianson was keeper from 1895 to 1900, Joseph Napeizinski from 1900 to 1906 and Jens J. Rollefson since that time. This lighthouse was erected to mark the west passage of Green Bay.

The Cana Island Lighthouse, four miles north of Baileys Harbor, was built in 1869 on a stony island of nine acres. A driveway to the mainland has now been built. The tower is eighty-eight feet high and the light can be seen eighteen miles. It is in a very exposed position. The keepers of this station have been the following:

On Dunlap reef in front of the City of Sturgeon Bay two range lights, 707 feet apart, were built in 1881. This is quite a desirable station as lighthouses go and there have therefore been but few keepers. These are:

The Sherwood Point Lighthouse at the mouth of Sturgeon Bay was built in 1883. The light has an elevation of sixty-one feet. In foggy weather a bell struck by machinery operates every twelve seconds.

The Plum Island Lighthouse Station in the middle of the Door was built in 1896. There is a tradition of a much earlier lighthouse on Plum Island but no information has been found about this. 'The present station is quite a pretentious one, consisting of a two-story double dwelling house in buff brick with a white, square, pyramidal, iron, skeleton tower close by. It also has a ten-inch steam whistle. The light can be seen thirteen miles. 'The keepers of this station have been Martin Knudson, Hans J. Hanson, Charles E. Young, Joseph Boshka and Charles Boshka. There are two assistants.

At the Lake Michigan end of the Sturgeon Bay Canal is a lighthouse, consisting of a white cylindrical tower 107 feet high. This was built in 1899. At the outer end of the north pier is another built in 1882. There are also four range lights, two in each end of the canal. Three of these were built in 1896, the fourth in 1898.

Among the many shoals that lie in the waters of Door County there are particularly two that are so dangerous that they have been marked by gas buoys. One is Fisherman Shoal lying about nine miles northeast of Pilot Island. This buoy is anchored in thirty-six feet of water. The other is Whaleback Shoal lying about six miles west of Washington Island. This buoy is anchored in eighteen feet of water. Both of these buoys were placed in their positions in 1897.

Whaleback Shoal is about two miles long and lies nearly in the direct line of travel up and down Green Bay. The highest part is marked on the Government maps as covered by three feet of water. This standard, however, was taken in the unusually high water of 1838, and in ordinary seasons it lies much nearer the surface. 'The shoal extends in a straight line from northwest to southeast and is very

Chambers Island Lighthouse

On quiet days the water flows placidly over this submerged ridge of limestone and the surface gives no indication of the danger that is lurking there. In stormy weather, however, particularly when the wind is from the northeast, the sea froths and roars over it in a terrific manner. In the early days, before the bay was properly charted and danger spots marked, this submerged reef was the cause of many a marine disaster.

To the credit of Whaleback Shoal it must be told that once it was the means of saving lives instead of destroying them. Two Norwegian fishermen from Ephraim by the names of Anton Olson and Anton Amundson were fishing on the ice near Chambers Island early in the spring of 1890. Suddenly they found that the ice had broken up and was carrying them slowly but irresistibly toward Lake Michigan. The floe on which they were marooned was many miles in extent and for a time they had hopes of making connections with Ellison Bay point or Door Bluff. In this they were disappointed, as the floe kept a course several miles distant from land. As the floe was breaking up they knew that sure death awaited them if they were carried out into Lake Michigan. After spending a night and day of fading hopes and weariness on the ice floe they toward the close of the second day found themselves close to Whaleback Shoal. Covered with huge cakes of ice which had stranded there it now lay like a huge, sinister serpent of ice. It had one virtue, however: it was not moving toward sure death. With their ice picks they broke off a small cake of ice and by means of this ferry reached the shoal. Here they found the ice heaped up in the greatest confusion, making strange caves and crevices. They crowded into one of these though with little hope. They were too far from land to be seen and they knew that no vessel would venture out for many days. Moreover, the shoal was such a dangerous place that mariners gave it a wide berth.

For two days and nights they sat in their cages of ice, exposed to the freezing cold of early April nights without food. Then they noticed that the wind which had shifted was bringing the ice back. For hours they stared anxiously until they saw quite a large cake of ice come near the shoal. Hastily they launched another cake of ice, paddled across the intervening space of water and embarked. Not many hours afterward they were safely back on land with their ice sleds. They had been four days and three nights among the icebergs.