The Copper Harbor Lighthouse is located within Fort Wilkins Historic State Park at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The lighthouse complex includes the 1848 keeper's dwelling, the 1866 lighthouse and privy, a 1933 steel tower that houses the modern lighting apparatus, and an outdoor interpretive trail. Source of information:
(
visit link)
Tours of the lighthouse are available.
COPPER HARBOR LIGHT
Location: KEWEENAW PENINSULA/LAKE SUPERIOR
Station Established: 1849
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1866
Operational? NO
Automated? YES 1919
Deactivated: 1933
Foundation Materials: DRESSED STONE/TIMBER
Construction Materials: BRICK
Tower Shape: SQUARE
Markings/Pattern: NATURAL W/BLACK LANTERN
Relationship to Other Structure: ATTACHED
Original Lens: FRESNEL 1856
Historical Information from (
visit link)
Copper Harbor is one of the first two lighthouses to be established on Lake Superior (Whitefish Point is the other).
1847 – Congress appropriated $5,000 for a lighthouse at this site.
1849 – 1st lighthouse built.
1856 – 4th order Fresnel lens installed.
1866 – Current tower built.
1883 – The lighthouse was discontinued due to waning harbor traffic.
1888 – The lighthouse was re-established. The original lens had been relocated to another lighthouse, so a new 4th order lens was installed.
1927 – The light was removed from the lighthouse and put on a steel tower.
1937 – Light electrified and 300 mm lens installed.
Keepers:
Henry Clow (1849 – 1853)
Henry Shurter (1853 – 1855)
Napoleon Bonaparte Beedon (1855 – 1869)
John Power (1869 – 1873)
Charles Corgan (1873 – 1881)
Edward Chambers (1881 – 1882)
James Rich (1882 – 1883)
Henry Corgan (1883 – 1919)
Researched and written by Marie Vincent, a volunteer through the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society.