The Wisconsin Point Light is a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

located in

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

, on Wisconsin Point, in

Douglas County, Wisconsin Douglas County is a county in the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,295 Its county seat is Superior. Douglas County is included in the Duluth, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area ...

, United States. The light and attached

fog horn A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. ...

building sits within a long

sand bar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or ...

– stretching between the ports of Duluth and Superior. This sand bar makes the Duluth–Superior Harbor one of the safest harbors in the world. It is "reputedly the longest freshwater sand bar in the world" and is split by this opening near its center, where the lighthouse is located. The Minnesota side of the opening is known as "Minnesota Point" (Park Point) and the Wisconsin side is known as " Wisconsin Point." It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2007. It stands erect at 70 ft. tall.

History

The original

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens (optics), lens which reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections. The simpler Dioptrics, d ...

was manufactured by Sautter, Lemonnier, and Company of Paris in 1890. It was replaced with a

DCB-224 An aerobeacon is a light assembly used to create a fixed or flashing signal visible over long distances. It consists of a high intensity electric lamp mounted with a focusing device in a cylindrical housing, which usually is rotated on a vertical ...

aero beacon manufactured by the Carlisle & Finch Company. It is an active navigational aid and is known as the South Breakwater Light by the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

in the Volume VII light list and the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and location information about more than two million physical and cultural features, encompassing the United States and its territories; the Compact of Free Association, asso ...

. It is located on the southern Superior Harbor entry breakwall. The Saint Louis River, which rises in Minnesota, becomes the Saint Louis Bay, then flows into

Superior Bay Superior Bay is a narrow inlet of Lake Superior along the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is long and wide. A small strait connects it to the Saint Louis Bay to the west, into which the Saint Louis River empties. Superior Bay is located be ...

and exits into

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

via the ship canals, at each end of (Park Point)

Minnesota Point Minnesota Point, also known as the Park Point Neighborhoods of Duluth, Minnesota, neighborhood of Duluth, Minnesota, Duluth, Minnesota, United States; is a long, narrow Spit (landform), sand spit that extends out from the Canal Park (Duluth), ...

. In July 2019, the lighthouse superstructure was put up for sale in an online auction by the U.S.

GSA GSA may refer to: Commerce * Citroën GSA, a French automobile * GameSpy Arcade, a utility for use with network computer games * General sales agent, an airline sales representative * Global mobile Suppliers Association, a not-for-profit indust ...

. The breakwater upon which it sits and the navigational aid housed within would remain U.S. Government property after the sale.

References

External links

Aerial photos of Wisconsin Point, South Breakwater Light, Marina.com.
*
Lighthouse friends, Wisconsin Point Light articleSatellite view, Superior Entry South Breakwater (Wisconsin Point) Light, by Google.com.
* * {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1913 Buildings and structures in Douglas County, Wisconsin Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin Tourist attractions in Douglas County, Wisconsin Superior, Wisconsin 1913 establishments in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Douglas County, Wisconsin

History

References

Further reading

External links