Point Iroquois Lighthouse

I got to the Point Iroquois Lighthouse early in the morning. When I got there the sun was hitting the building in just the right way to give it a soft glow. The keeper who lives there came out and told me he was going to open the light up for me. In the minute or so that I talked to him the sun moved behind the clouds and did not reappear while I was there. So some advice to those who have have the right light is to take the picture then and do other things after you get the picture.


Point Iroquois is named because of the massacre of Iroquois by the Ojibwa in 1662.  The Iroquois were expanding west and the Ojibwa were not pleased and were determined to drive the Iroquois out of the area.

The view from the top of the lighthouse looking west.  The light and keeper station were restored in 1993.  A keeper stays there all year because vandalism was a problem. 

The lighthouse was built in 1855 and 1856.  It was replaced by the current structure in 1872.  It operated until 1962 when it was deactivated and replaced with the Gros Cap light that sits in the channel. 

The site is on the National Register of Historical Places.  Because of this, there are limits to what can and cannot be done on the site and for renovation. 

For example, the building was painted recently.  The paint had to be approved by Washington.  Unfortunately, the paint that was approved is already peeling off the tower because while the rest of the structure is heated, the tower is not.   Now they have to wait for approval to fix the peeling paint, and can only do so with an approved of material.

There is a nice boardwalk in the area from which the second image is shot from.  It took several years for the government to approve the boardwalk.  It runs down to the beach and is well worth the short walk.