Lighthouses of Lake Superior’s North Shore: The Historic Beacons of Minnesota, Isle Royale and Ontario

Elle Andra-Warner was born in a castle in Europe, while in a post-war Estonian displaced-persons camp. She lived for a time in England, then came to Canada with her parents in the 1950s. Her family settled on the Lake Superior shoreline in Port Arthur, Ontario (now part of the city of Thunder Bay). The sounds and sights of Great Lakes shipping were an everyday part of her Canadian childhood. She is the author of several books, including Edmund Fitzgerald: The Legendary Great Lakes Shipwreck.

SPLIT ROCK LIGHTHOUSE

Location: Western Lake Superior, situated on top of a 130-foot (39.6 m) rock cliff along the north shore of Lake Superior in Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, Beaver Township, Lake County, Minnesota

Built: 1909–1910

Lit: August 1, 1910

Coordinates: N 47.20005, W 91.3669

Status: Station deactivated in 1969; Split Rock Lighthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1969, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2011

Owned by: Since 1976, the lighthouse and facilities have been operated as a historic site by the Minnesota Historical Society

Open to Public: Open daily mid-May to mid-October

Getting There: It is easy to get to Split Rock Lighthouse by car on U.S. Highway MN61-N. From Duluth, the drive is northeast 48 miles (77.2 km); from Two Harbors, northeast 20 miles (32.2 km); from Grand Marais, southwest 64 miles (103 km); and from the Canadian border, southwest 104 miles (167.4 km).

Address: Split Rock Lighthouse
3713 Split Rock Lighthouse Road
Two Harbors, MN 55616 Tel. 218-226-6372

Background

Split Rock Lighthouse, which sits on a sheer 130-foot (39.6 m) cliff, owes its existence largely to a brutal 1905 storm that left shipwrecks along the north shore, in particular the barge Madeira, less than a mile away.

In the early hours of November 28, 1905, a raging blizzard sunk 29 ships on Lake Superior. Pittsburgh Steamship Company’s 436-foot (132.9 m) steel barge Madeira was being towed by the company’s 478-foot (145.7 m) steel steamer William Edenborn. At about 3:00 a.m., the towline broke, leaving Madeira drifting and helpless. Three hours later, the Madeira was being smashed broadside against a cliff at Gold Rock Point (near the cliff of today’s Split Rock Lighthouse). One crew member was lost (drowned after falling overboard), and Madeira broke in two and sank. The wreckage is now a popular dive site.

At the same time, a few miles away, the Edenborn slammed its bow at full speed onto the shore at the mouth of the Split Rock River. She also lost one crew member as the ship cracked mid-ship.

After the 1905 storm, a delegation of steamship owners led by the president of the Pittsburgh Steamship Company, which had a number of vessels lost or substantially damaged along the north shore because of the storm, successfully lobbied U.S. Congress for a lighthouse and fog signal to be built near Split Rock, then called Stoney Point.

Construction and Design

Construction on the lighthouse began in May 1909, and was completed in the summer of 1910 at a cost of $72,540. Ten buildings were constructed, including three yellow brick, two-story lighthouse keeper’s houses, a fog building, and light tower.

The building of the lighthouse is a story in itself. Because there were no roads to the remote Minnesota site, all the workers, building materials (including tons of bricks), and supplies were shipped by boat to a dock built below the cliff and then loaded into a box crate called a “skip.” They were then hoisted up to the cliff top by a 1,200-pound (544.3 kg) steam-powered derrick. The heavy steam hoist had been pulled up the steep slope by lines and tackle attached to trees before the derrick was erected and secured. In 1916, a tramway was completed to replace the derrick, and it moved supplies up from the lakeshore until 1934 when the station truck began hauling in supplies.

Octagonal on the outside but circular inside, the light tower is made of yellow brick, reinforced concrete on a concrete foundation, and topped by a black dome. A black iron railing surrounds the gallery and lantern. Since the 38-foot (11.6 m) tower sits on a 130-foot (39.6 m) rock cliff, the beacon focal point is 168 feet (51.2 m) above Lake Superior and has a range of more than 22 miles (35.4 km). A black iron railing surrounds the gallery and lantern.

Inside the tower there is a 32-step circular iron staircase, a hollow post or “weight-way” in the middle, and yellow brick interior walls with glazed enamel finish.

One of the main features of the Split Rock Lighthouse is its third-order bi-valve Fresnel lens, which floated in 250 pounds (115 kg) of mercury and operated on an elaborate clockwork mechanism of weights and pulleys that rotated the lens once every 20 seconds, producing a white flash of light every 10 seconds.

Into the Twenty-First Century

Lake Superior waters around the Split Rock Lighthouse area were once described as being among the world’s most dangerous for ships; however, after the lighthouse was built, there were no further major disasters or shipwrecks.

Although the light was deactivated in 1969, since 1985 it has been relit every year on November 10 to commemorate the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald on November 10, 1975, and the loss of the 29 sailors who went down with the vessel. The Fitzgerald had sailed past the historic Split Rock Lighthouse after leaving Duluth Harbor on November 9, 1975.

Considered one of the most beautiful in the United States, and restored to its early 1920s appearance, Split Rock Lighthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2011.