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]
Year first constructed1858
Year first lit1858
Automated1962
FoundationConcrete
ConstructionMilwaukee Cream City brick[2]
Tower shapeSquare
Markings / patternyellow, black lantern and parapet
Tower height41 feet (12 m)[3]
Focal height48 feet (15 m)[4]
Original lensFourth order Fresnel lens
Range12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi)[1]
CharacteristicWhite, Flashing (2), 6 sec[1]
ARLHS numberUSA-600[5][6]
USCG number7-21325
Heritageplace listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
Pilot Island Light
USCG archive photo
Nearest cityGills Rock, Wisconsin
Area3.5 acres (1.4 ha)
NRHP reference No.83004279[7]
Added to NRHPNovember 21, 1983

The building's plant is similar to Pottawatomie Light, but this is 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.[8]

History
Detail of NOAA Chart #14909

Frequent and oppressive fog made the passage hazardous; and also made duty at the light to be considered a hardship in an extremely lonely and forbidding place.[9] 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).[10] In 1904, there came a realization that the whistles were "less than effective' and they were replaced by dual diaphones.[2] The horns made living there difficult; fertilized eggs would be destroyed by the sounds.[9]

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. 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.[8]

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. Pepper, Terry, Seeing the light, Pilot Island.
  3. Pepper, Terry. "Database of Tower Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com. Archived from the original on 2000-09-18. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
  4. Pepper, Terry. "Database of Focal Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com. Archived from the original on 2008-08-30. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
  5. "Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, Milwaukee Pierhead (Lake Michigan) Light ARLHS USA-600".
  6. "Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, World List of Lights". Archived from the original on 2009-04-21.
  7. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  8. National Park Service, NPS Maritime History Project, Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Wisconsin
  9. Door County Museum, Pilot Island Lighthouse. Archived 2009-08-26 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Wobser, David, Pilot Island Light at boatnerd.com.
  11. D'Entremont, Jeremy. "Islands at Death's Door" (October, 2003) Lighthouse Digest.
  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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