Gull Island Light is a lighthouse

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....

 on Gull Island

Gull Island (Wisconsin)

Gull Island is one of the Apostle Islands, in Lake Superior, in northern Wisconsin, and is part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The island is located off the coast of Michigan Island. The Gull Island Light is on Gull Island....

, one of the Apostle Islands

Apostle Islands

The Apostle Islands are a group of 22 islands in Lake Superior, off the Bayfield Peninsula in northern Wisconsin. The majority of the islands are located in Ashland County—only Sand, York, Eagle, and Raspberry Islands are located in Bayfield County...

, in Lake Superior

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...

 in northern Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

, in Ashland County, Wisconsin USA. The lighthouse was constructed in 1928 and is currently owned by the Coast Guard

Coast guard

A coast guard or coastguard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with...

. Both grounds and tower are closed.

History

In 1906 the United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 was notified by the Lighthouse Board that a light was required to warn ships of the dangerous ledge protruding from the island for about three and a half miles. After consulting the Department of Commerce, who agreed that it would be an appropriate place for a lighthouse, Congress dispatched a survey team to judge the area. In 1908, the captain of the survey team announced that the eastern end of Michigan Island

Michigan Island

Michigan Island is one of the Apostle Islands located in western Lake Superior, off the Bayfield Peninsula, in northern Wisconsin. This island has no human inhabitants, and is managed by the National Park Service as part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. It is centered at approximately...

 would be a better place for a light, and an extra $15,000 should be added to the existing $85,000 cost. On the 17th of June in 1918, Congress agreed to place a light on the Eastern end of Michigan Island.

Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania an automated pole light had recently been build to replace the 112 foot skeletal tower. United States Lighthouse Service

United States Lighthouse Service

The United States Lighthouse Service, also known as the Bureau of Lighthouses, was the agency of the US Federal Government that was responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of all lighthouses in the United States from the time of its creation in 1910 until 1939...

 (the successors of the Lighthouse Board) judged the tower to be in great condition, and proposed to disassemble and ship it to Michigan Island. In 1928 Congress agreed on the construction of a light on Gull Island, and work began on assembling the skeletal tower on Michigan Island and on Gull Island.

Current structure and display

The structure is a 50 feet (15.2 m) black iron pyramidal skeletal tower. The light characteristic, displayed at 56 feet (17.1 m), is one white flash every two and a half (Fl W 2.5s) visible for 7 nautical miles (13 km). It is produced by a 12 Volt 250 mm solar power

Solar power

Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...

ed optic.

Getting there

Gull Island Light is owned by the Coast Guard, and the Apostle Island Cruise Service water taxi does not offer any cruises that pass Gull Island. A private boat is the only way to view the light.

Specialized Additional reading

• Havighurst, Walter (1943) The Long Ships Passing: The Story of the Great Lakes, Macmillan Publishers
  Macmillan Publishers
  Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
  
  .
• Oleszewski, Wes, Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
• Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1-55046-399-3.