Lighthouse Voyage - Part 17

[Tannerman]

Rawley Point
Two Rivers, WI - Lighthouse 13 of 15

Having already visited the Two Rivers Pier light in Two Rivers, WI, we headed slightly north to catch the other beacon in the area, Rawley Point lighthouse, located inside Point Beach State Forest.


Like everything else in Wisconsin, they nickel & dime you just to visit the lighthouse. For what we paid to enter the State Forest for 3 hours, we visited 3 entire State Parks in Michigan. They say "Travel Wisconsin" on their website, but they might as well say "Travel with an ATM in Wisconsin!" Nevertheless, we wanted to see the Rawley Point lighthouse because it had a distinct Chicago connection.


Many of you know that the 1893 World's Fair was held in Chicago (then it was known as the Columbian Exposition). In fact, many of our museums and parks were created just for this event. For example the Palace of Fine Arts became what is now our Museum of Science and Industry.


Location of lighthouse at 1893 Columbian Exposition
Since the expo was set on Chicago's waterfront, one of the fastest growing ports on the Great Lakes, the folks in charge of building lighthouses for the Lighthouse Board thought it would be a good idea to "show off" at this event. They created a very elaborate and fashionable cast iron lighthouse tower, complete with brass trim and highlights. After the fair, the tower was taken apart and moved to Rawley Point to be put into service, replacing a pre-existing light.


The support structure of this lighthouse is very similar to another I visited on Lake Superior, Whitefish Point. It is one of the more unique structures we visited on our trip. It should also be noted that it's currently the largest and brightest beacon on the Great Lakes.


The 2 million candlepower lamp is powered not by a Fresnel lens, but rather lights intended for airport-use called DCB-36 Aerobeacons. Two of these are mounted back to back and rotate. Their use was necessitated by the high cost of replacement parts for the older Fresnel lens. Rising 113 feet above the lake surface, the beam can be seen for 28 miles.


The lighthouse, now automated, is still an active Coast Guard property. The keeper's house is used by military personnel and their families as a vacation cottage. Because of this, we were not able to actually walk onto the grounds of the light, but we did get pretty close.


Amy and I decided to make a lunch at one of the picnic tables we found along a trail to the lighthouse. It was a peaceful and quaint location. Highly recommended... if you don't mind paying a small fee to enter the State Forest!

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