COPPER HARBOR, MI – This week the Federal Government transferred the deed for Gull Rock Lighthouse to the nonprofit community as part of a federal initiative designed to revitalize mothballed lighthouses. As of this month, the lighthouse will be jointly operated by two 501 (c) 3 Michigan nonprofits: the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy of Fenton and Gull Rock Lightkeepers of Copper Harbor. In recent decades the light station has fallen into a state of serious disrepair, and the two nonprofits will now start the long process of restoration. “It’s not going to be easy to bring Gull Rock back into its prime,” says Jeff Shook, president of the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy. “But our heart’s in the right place and with any luck we’ll be able to turn the corner on decades of deterioration out there.”
Gull Rock Lighthouse is a National Historic Landmark located on a small half-acre island 2 and 1/2 miles off the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior. It sits about a half-mile west of Manitou Island and about 15 miles east of Copper Harbor. The rock is exposed to the open waters of Lake Superior and rises just 12 feet above the surface of the lake. Historic lightkeeper log entries make it clear that during fierce storms large waves would wash over the rock, sometimes enveloping the lighthouse in water. “Since 1867 Gull Rock Lighthouse has been exposed to all the fury that Lake Superior has to offer and it’s taken its toll,” adds Peter Annin, executive director of Gull Rock Lightkeepers. “Our goal today is to start a new chapter in Gull Rock’s history.”
From the beginning, Gull Rock’s exposed location has created challenges. Back in 1867 the original foreman hired to build the lighthouse died on the job, but despite that setback the light was successfully completed later that year. Since then the reefs and rocky shoals that surround Gull Rock have been the scene of several shipwrecks. The most famous wreck near Gull Rock was the 450-foot freighterL.C. Waldo, which ran aground on Nov. 8, 1913 near the lighthouse during a fierce storm packing 70 mph winds. But the waters in the vicinity of Gull Rock have been a threat to modern vessels as well. In December of 1989 the Coast Guard Cutter Mesquite ran aground near the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula while buoy tending.
Today the biggest problem facing the lighthouse is deterioration. The light was automated in 1913, and remains an active Aid to Navigation. But while the tower, lantern room and gallery remain in fairly good shape, the keeper’s quarters have fallen into a state of serious disrepair. A large hole remained in the roof of the lighthouse for years before being repaired by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1988. But years of exposure to moisture and rot caused much of the second floor to collapse down on the first floor, some of which, in turn, pancaked down into the basement. “On the inside it’s in very rough shape,” Shook says, “We certainly have our work cutout for us.” But during a visit to the property last summer, Ken Czapski, architectural division manager at U.P. Engineers and Architects out of Marquette, determined that while the lighthouse was in need of extensive restoration, the building itself was “structurally sound.”
The deed of the lighthouse was transferred under the auspices of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, which is an amendment to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The applicants were required to complete a long and arduous application process, making Gull Rock one of several Michigan lighthouses that have been transferred by the federal government in recent years. Because the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy and Gull Rock Lightkeepers are both nonprofit organizations, donations to either organization are tax deductible. Contributions on behalf of Gull Rock Lighthouse are now being accepted
With no docks on Gull Rock to accommodate medium or large vessels, the lighthouse is only accessible by small zodiac-style boats during calm seas. Despite its remote location, the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy and Gull Rock Lightkeepers remain committed to allowing public access to the property on a limited basis that is compatible with Gull Rock’s exposed location. “This is not the kind of lighthouse that kindergarten classes are ever going to be able to visit,” Annin says. “It may never be open to the public on a 9-to-5 basis. Nevertheless, we are committed to do what we can to make it accessible to the public on a safe and limited basis. ”
MLC and GRL are exploring a wide variety of visitation options. One idea is to hold regular V.I.P. raffles that would award people a personal, guided tour of the property, and also provide the building with some badly needed restoration funds. Another longer-term goal, after the building has been restored, is to create an artist-in-residence program like those offered at Isle Royale National Park and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The only difference would be that Gull Rock’s residency program would be open to writers, musicians, scientists and other practitioners of the humanities—in addition to artists. “But that all seems like a long way off at this stage,” Shook says. “We’ve got to get the place fixed up first.”
For more information and lighthouse photos contact Peter Annin at Gull Rock Lightkeepers (608) 278-8005 www.gullrocklightkeepers.org or Jeff Shook at the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy (810) 750-9236 www.michiganlights.com .