{{Short description|Lighthouse in Wisconsin, United States}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}} {{Infobox lighthouse |image_name = potawatomi_lighthouse.jpg |caption = Potawatomi Lighthouse 2004 |location = Rock Island, Door County, Wisconsin |coordinates = {{coord|45|25|39|N|86|49|41|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}<ref name=uscg7>{{cite uscgll|7|2014| }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.history.uscg.mil/Browse-by-Topic/Assets/Land/All/Article/1982205/pottawatomie-lighthouse/ |title = Pottawatomie Lighthouse |work = Lighthouse Resources: Historic Lighthouses & Light Stations |publisher = United States Coast Guard |date = October 7, 2019 }}</ref> |yearlit = 1836 |automated = 1966 |yeardeactivated = 1988 |foundation = Stone |construction = Limestone |shape = Square, integral with keeper house<ref>{{cite uscghist|WI}}</ref> |marking = natural with black lantern |height = {{convert|41|ft}}<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/lists/towers.htm |last = Pepper |first = Terry |work = Seeing the Light |title = Database of Tower Heights |publisher = Terry Pepper |access-date = October 7, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20000918211817/http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/lists/towers.htm |archive-date = September 18, 2000 |url-status = dead }}</ref> |focalheight = {{convert|159|ft}}<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/lists/focalheight.htm |last = Pepper |first = Terry |work = Seeing the Light |title = Database of Focal Heights |publisher = Terry Pepper |access-date = October 7, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080830100452/http://www.terrypepper.com/Lights/lists/focalheight.htm |archive-date = August 30, 2008 |url-status = dead }}</ref> |lens = Fresnel lens |range = {{convert|7|nmi}}<ref name=uscg7/> |characteristic = Fl W 4s 159 Light is obscured from 275° to 020° by dense foliage<ref>{{cite uscgll|7|| }}</ref> |module = {{Infobox NRHP |embed = yes |name = Pottawatomie Lighthouse |nearest_city = Washington Island, Wisconsin |added = April 20, 1979 |area = {{convert|2|acre}} |refnum = 79000074<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref> }} }} '''Pottawatomie Lighthouse''', also known as the '''Rock Island Light''', is a lighthouse in Rock Island State Park, on Rock Island in Door County, Wisconsin. Lit in 1836, it is the oldest light station in Wisconsin and on Lake Michigan. It was served by civilian light keepers from 1836 to 1946, at which point it was automated.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Karges |first=Steven |title=Keepers of the Lights |publisher=Wm Caxton Ltd |year=2000 |isbn=0940473399 |location=Ellison Bay, WI |pages=11–49}}</ref>
==History== The first lighthouse on the spot was a 1.5-story house and {{convert|30|ft|m|adj=on}} detached tower built in 1836. Due to poor construction, it was replaced by the existing lighthouse in 1858. The original tower and dwelling were demolished in subsequent years. The current building was first lit in 1858 and continued as an active aid to navigation until 1988, when it was replaced with a modern skeletal tower and automated system.<ref>{{cite book |last1 = Wardius |first1 = Ken |last2 = Wardius |first2 = Barb |year = 2000 |title = Wisconsin Lighthouses: A Photographic & Historical Guide |pages = 60–61 |publisher = Big Earth Publishing |isbn = 1-879483-60-2 }}</ref>
It is the oldest light station in Door County,<ref>{{Cite web |url = http://dcmm.org/pottawatomie.html |title = Door County Maritime Museum, Pottawatomie Lighthouse (Rock Island) history |access-date = October 7, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090901210610/http://www.dcmm.org/pottawatomie.html |archive-date = September 1, 2009 |url-status = dead }}</ref> which has the most lighthouses of any Wisconsin county.<ref name="lighthouse.boatnerd.com"/>
The lighthouse was restored by the Friends of Rock Island Lighthouse.<ref name="lighthouse.boatnerd.com">{{cite web |url = http://lighthouse.boatnerd.com/gallery/Michigan/Pottawatomie.htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190807235443/http://lighthouse.boatnerd.com/gallery/Michigan/Pottawatomie.htm |last = Wobser |first = David |title = Pottawatomie (Rock Island) Light |work = Boatnerd |archive-date = August 7, 2019 }}</ref> It is open for tours during the summer as the '''Pottawatomie Lighthouse Museum'''. The lighthouse has been restored to a state illustrating its appearance circa 1909–1913. The restoration was completed in 2004 with the help from the non-profit ''Friends Of Rock Island State Park''.<ref>{{cite rowlett|wi }}</ref> It now serves as a museum that is open for tours daily from Memorial Day to Columbus Day 10am to 4pm.
The lighthouse was listed as Pottawatomie Lighthouse in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, as reference #79000074. The fresnel lens, lost after the lighthouse was shut down in the late 1980s, was replaced by a plexiglass copy in 1999.
The original (1836) privy still stands on the grounds and is the oldest structure in Door County. thumb|Oldest structure in Door County thumb|1986 Pottawatomie Light from light tower of 1858 structure
==Design==
The current lighthouse is built in the schoolhouse style, with its tower integrated into the house structure. This was a common design used by many of the lighthouses built in the late 1850s/early 1860s, which saw a large increase in the number of lighthouses built on Lake Michigan. (See Port Washington Light, Grand Traverse Light, Pilot Island Light). Unlike most other lighthouses of the period, which were commonly built with brick, it was built out of local limestone. The lighthouse sits on a bluff 137 feet high, giving a focal height of 159 feet for its original fourth-order fresnel lens. The original light tower, including the lens, was removed after automation, and both the current lens and light platform are reconstructions.
The lighthouse is currently configured with a kitchen, sitting room, and one bedroom on the first floor, three bedrooms on the second floor, and a keeper's office on the partial third floor with the access to the light platform above. Some original artifacts, including the original wood stove, have been preserved, and the remainder of the house has been furnished with period appropriate furnishings, including a collection of antique quilts.
The lighthouse did have a telephone connection to the mainland installed in 1903, but never had electricity or running water. When the light was electrified and automated in 1947, it ran off of batteries, which had to be replaced by the Coast Guard periodically. The current light, which is on a steel tower just south of the original lighthouse, is solar powered.
A summer kitchen was added to the rear of the building sometime after 1883. Unlike the rest of the lighthouse, it was not restored to period, and instead functions as a gift shop and beginning/end point for tours.
==Keepers==
For most of its history, the lighthouse was maintained by civilian keepers with the US Lighthouse Service. The lighthouse was staffed with one head keeper, and had an assistant keeper from 1866-1882 and again from 1901-1944. thumb|Grave of David Corbin, first keeper of Pottawatomie Light
==Museum Operation==
When open for tours (Memorial Day weekend to Columbus Day), the lighthouse is staffed by volunteer docents provided by the Friends of Rock Island. These volunteers stay in the lighthouse for one week at a time, giving tours during operating hours.
==Gallery== {{gallery|mode=packed|align=center|width=135|height=135 |File:Pottawatomie Lighthouse Interior.jpg|The interior has been historically restored. |File:USCGpottawatomielight.JPG|USCG archive photo |File:1883 Pottawatomie Light Station, Door County Wisconsin.jpg|In 1883 |title=}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== {{refbegin}} * {{cite book |last = Havighurst |first = Walter |year = 1943 |title = The Long Ships Passing: The Story of the Great Lakes |publisher = Macmillan Publishers }} * {{cite book |last = Oleszewski |first = Wes |title = Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses |location = Gwinn, Michigan |publisher = Avery Color Studios |year = 1998 |isbn = 0-932212-98-0 }} *{{cite web |url = http://www.lighthousedepot.com/lite_digest.asp?action=get_article&sk=537&bhcd2=1254776929 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110614085749/http://www.lighthousedepot.com/lite_digest.asp?action=get_article&sk=537&bhcd2=1254776929 |last = Olson |first = William H. |title = Pottawatomie Lantern Room Restored |date = October 2009 |work = Lighthouse Digest |archive-date = June 14, 2011 }} * {{cite web |url = http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/michigan/pottawatomie/pottawatomie.htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200622153259/http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/michigan/pottawatomie/pottawatomie.htm |archive-date = June 22, 2020 |last = Pepper |first = Terry |work = Seeing the Light |title = Pottawatomie (Rock Island) Lighthouse, Wisconsin |publisher = Terry Pepper }} * {{cite web |url = http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/index.htm |last = Pepper |first = Terry |work = Seeing the Light |title = Lighthouses on the Western Great Lakes |publisher = Terry Pepper |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220402173558/http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/index.htm |archive-date = April 2, 2022 }} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20100716184305/http://www.wctc.net/~cmarlspc/pottawatomie.htm ''Pottawatomie Light History'', Friends of Rock Island State Park.] * {{cite book |last = Sapulski |first = Wayne S. |year = 2001 |title = Lighthouses of Lake Michigan: Past and Present |location = Fowlerville, Michigan |publisher = Wilderness Adventure Books |isbn = 978-0-923568-47-4 }} * {{cite web |last = Sweet |first = Tim |url = http://www.dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/html/stories/2000/feb00/lantern.htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100822043830/http://www.dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/html/stories/2000/feb00/lantern.htm |title = Lighting the Outer Limits |publisher = Wisconsin Natural Resources |date = February 2000 |archive-date = August 22, 2010 }} * {{cite book |last1 = Wright |first1 = Larry |last2 = Wright |first2 = Patricia |title = Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia |location = Erin, Ontario |publisher = Boston Mills Press |year = 2006 |isbn = 1-55046-399-3 }} {{refend}}
==External links== {{commons category}} *{{ARLHS link}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110724125109/http://www.wctc.net/~cmarlspc/index.htm Friends of Rock Island State Park] - official site *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120729041514/http://www.dcmm.org/cana-island-lighthouse/door-county-lighthouses/ Door County lighthouses] at Door County Maritime Museum (Archived July 29, 2012) *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120825015917/http://www.cr.nps.gov/maritime/light/rockisl.htm NPS Inventory of Historic Light Stations] (Archived August 25, 2012) *[http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=639 Lighthouse friends] *[https://archive.today/20130416051613/http://video.wpt2.org/video/1892614530 Lighthouse Docent] Documentary produced by Wisconsin Public Television
{{Lighthouses of Wisconsin}}
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Category:Lighthouses completed in 1836 Category:Lighthouses completed in 1858 Category:Lighthouses in Door County, Wisconsin Category:Lighthouse museums in Wisconsin Category:Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin Category:Museums in Door County, Wisconsin Category:National Register of Historic Places in Door County, Wisconsin