Pilot Island Light

The Pilot Island Light is a lighthouse located near Gills Rock, on Pilot Island at the east end of Death's Door passage, in Door County, Wisconsin.

Pilot Island Light
LocationGills Rock, Wisconsin
Coordinates45°17′3.067″N 86°55′11.012″W[1][2]
Tower
Constructed1858 Edit this on Wikidata
FoundationConcrete
ConstructionMilwaukee Cream City brick[3]
Automated1962
Height41 feet (12 m)[4]
ShapeSquare
Markingsyellow, black lantern and parapet
HeritageNational Register of Historic Places listed place Edit this on Wikidata
Light
First lit1858
Focal height48 feet (15 m)[5]
LensFourth order Fresnel lens
Range12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi)[1]
CharacteristicWhite, Flashing (2), 6 sec[1]
Pilot Island Light
USCG archive photo
Nearest cityGills Rock, Wisconsin
Area3.5 acres (1.4 ha)
NRHP reference No.83004279[6]
Added to NRHPNovember 21, 1983

The building's plant is similar to Pottawatomie Light, but is made of brick instead of stone. Until 1910 it was called Port des Morts Island Light. The original fog signal building was converted to a second assistant lighthouse keeper's residence in 1900.[7]

History
Detail of NOAA Chart #14909

Frequent and oppressive fog made the passage hazardous, as well as making it an extremely lonely and forbidding place to work.[8] A fog bell signal was installed in 1862. In 1864 it was replaced by a foghorn. In 1875 it was converted to a steam powered fog siren. In 1880 a separate fog building was built for a "duplicate" fog siren. This began a 10-inch (250 mm) steam whistle and new building in 1900 (which still exists near water's edge).[9] Up to three families at a time lived together in the large building.[10] In 1904, there came a realization that the whistles were "less than effective' and they were replaced by dual diaphones.[3] The horns made living there difficult; fertilized eggs would be destroyed by the sounds.[8]

This island and nearby Plum Island are two of four Wisconsin properties turned over by the U.S. Coast Guard to the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM is working to find new qualified owners, who would be required to care for the properties. The Coast Guard and BLM require the new stewards to maintain the buildings.[11] It is one of ten lighthouses in Door County.[12]

It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 as the Pilot Island Light, reference #83004279.[7]

The lighthouse is owned by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The grounds, dwelling and tower are closed. It is currently "abandoned, overgrown, and overrun" by a large cormorant population.[13]

References
  1. Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2014.
  2. Pilot Island Light in Lighthouse Resources: Historic Lighthouses & Light Stations, United States Coast Guard, October 1, 2019
  3. Pepper, Terry, Seeing the light, Pilot Island. (Archived February 8, 2020)
  4. Pepper, Terry. "Database of Tower Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com. Archived from the original on 2021-10-23. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
  5. Pepper, Terry. "Database of Focal Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com. Archived from the original on 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
  6. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  7. National Park Service, NPS Maritime History Project, Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Wisconsin (Archived February 7, 2007)
  8. Pilot Island Lighthouse, Door County Maritime Museum, (Archived February 5, 2012)
  9. Wobser, David, Pilot Island Light at boatnerd.com, (Archived August 7, 2019
  10. Death & Lighthouses on the Great Lakes: A History of Murder and Misfortune by Dianna Higgs Stampfler, Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press, Chapter 7: Pilot Island Lighthouse, Door County Wisconsin, 2022, page 92
  11. D'Entremont, Jeremy. "Islands at Death's Door" (October, 2003) Lighthouse Digest, Archived March 26, 2016
  12. Door County Lighthouses. Door County Maritime Museum.
  13. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Eastern Wisconsin". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Further reading
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