Green Island Light (Wisconsin)
Encyclopedia
The Green Island Light is a lighthouse
located on Green Island
in Green Bay
. Abandoned since its deactivation in 1956, it survives as a hollow shell near the existing skeleton tower.
. He reported that a light on Green Island would be sufficient for both requests, and the light was constructed in 1862-1863. A two story brick structure, it displayed a fixed light provided by a fourth order Fresnel lens
. The first keeper was one Samuel Drew, who also happened to be the person from whom the land for the light station was purchased; he and his wife Mary remained at this station until 1881, when they transferred to the Menominee Pier Light
. In addition to their official duties, they farmed much of the remainder of the island.
The year after activation, a severe fire in the lighthouse required erection of a temporary beacon and shelter during reconstruction of the light. The Drews had five children on the island, two of whom were destined to become lighthouse keepers themselves; a third died on the island in infancy and is buried there.
1871 is remembered in the Green Bay area as the year of the Great Peshtigo Fire; the island escaped the conflagration, but the smoke was so thick that Samuel Drew kept the light burning during daylight as well as at night. Nevertheless the three-masted schooner George L. Newman was wrecked offshore, but the crew was rescued without loss.
1876 saw the first of several changes to the docking facilities, as an additional plot was purchased from the Drews and a new landing was constructed. In 1883 the boathouse was moved due to dropping water levels in the bay. This house was damaged by ice in 1902 and had to be rebuilt. In the meantime the well went dry in 1893 and had to be redug.
Frank Drew
became assistant keeper in 1902, transferring from the Port des Morts Island Light. The son of Samuel and Mary Drew, he was joined by his brother George after Frank became head keeper in 1909. Frank and his brother gained a reputation for heroism, with over thirty rescues credited to them over the years. In 1928 the beacon was changed to a new flashing signal with a reduced range; this lamp, however, was able to be operated in the winter months. Frank Drew retired in 1929 and died in 1931; in 1998 a USCG Coastal Buoy Tender
, the USCGC Frank Drew (WLM-557), was christened in his honor.
The light was automated in 1933, and in 1956 a new steel tower was erected and the old house abandoned. The following year the light station was sold to the Roen Steamship Company, which had already purchased the rest of the island in 1955. Vandalism, fires and weather have reduced the original site to an empty shell, but the 1956 tower remains active.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
located on Green Island
Green Island (Wisconsin)
Green Island is an island in Green Bay and part of Marinette County, Wisconsin. The Green Island Light is on the island.- Overview :The 87+ acre island is crescent shaped and has submerged shoals extending out half or more on each of the southern sides. The northern side consists of large boulders...
in Green Bay
Green Bay
- Geography :Bodies of water* Green Bay , a bay of Wisconsin known to locals as the Bay of Green Bay* Green Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, a bay located on the island of NewfoundlandMunicipalities* Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States...
. Abandoned since its deactivation in 1956, it survives as a hollow shell near the existing skeleton tower.
History
Calls for a lighthouse in the area were first heard in the 1850s, and in 1861 George Gordon Meade was sent to the area to investigate requests for lights on the island and on the shore north of the mouth of the Menominee RiverMenominee River
The Menominee River is a river in northwestern Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin in the United States. It is approximately 118 mi , draining a rural forested area of northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan into Lake Michigan...
. He reported that a light on Green Island would be sufficient for both requests, and the light was constructed in 1862-1863. A two story brick structure, it displayed a fixed light provided by a fourth order Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
. The first keeper was one Samuel Drew, who also happened to be the person from whom the land for the light station was purchased; he and his wife Mary remained at this station until 1881, when they transferred to the Menominee Pier Light
Menominee Pier Light
The Menominee North Pier lighthouse is located in the harbor of Menominee, Michigan. The station was established in 1877. The current structure and its still operational light was first lit in 1927, and automated in 1972. It is also sometimes called the "Menominee North Pierhead Light".The...
. In addition to their official duties, they farmed much of the remainder of the island.
The year after activation, a severe fire in the lighthouse required erection of a temporary beacon and shelter during reconstruction of the light. The Drews had five children on the island, two of whom were destined to become lighthouse keepers themselves; a third died on the island in infancy and is buried there.
1871 is remembered in the Green Bay area as the year of the Great Peshtigo Fire; the island escaped the conflagration, but the smoke was so thick that Samuel Drew kept the light burning during daylight as well as at night. Nevertheless the three-masted schooner George L. Newman was wrecked offshore, but the crew was rescued without loss.
1876 saw the first of several changes to the docking facilities, as an additional plot was purchased from the Drews and a new landing was constructed. In 1883 the boathouse was moved due to dropping water levels in the bay. This house was damaged by ice in 1902 and had to be rebuilt. In the meantime the well went dry in 1893 and had to be redug.
Frank Drew
Frank Drew (lighthouse keeper)
Frank Albert Drew was a lighthouse keeper. He was Assistant Keeper Pilot Island Light from 1899 to 1903, First Assistant Keeper, Green Island Light-Station from 1903 to 1909, and Keeper of Green Island Light-Station from 1904 to 1929....
became assistant keeper in 1902, transferring from the Port des Morts Island Light. The son of Samuel and Mary Drew, he was joined by his brother George after Frank became head keeper in 1909. Frank and his brother gained a reputation for heroism, with over thirty rescues credited to them over the years. In 1928 the beacon was changed to a new flashing signal with a reduced range; this lamp, however, was able to be operated in the winter months. Frank Drew retired in 1929 and died in 1931; in 1998 a USCG Coastal Buoy Tender
USCG Coastal Buoy Tender
The United States Coast Guard commissioned a new Keeper-class of coastal buoy tenders in the 1990s that are 175 feet in length and named after Lighthouse keepers.Keeper Class cutters serve the Coast Guard in a variety of missions...
, the USCGC Frank Drew (WLM-557), was christened in his honor.
The light was automated in 1933, and in 1956 a new steel tower was erected and the old house abandoned. The following year the light station was sold to the Roen Steamship Company, which had already purchased the rest of the island in 1955. Vandalism, fires and weather have reduced the original site to an empty shell, but the 1956 tower remains active.