Copper Harbor Lighthouse

Copper Harbor, Michigan, USA

Lake Superior

Copper Harbor Light is located across a bay from Fort Wilkins State Park. This light was built in 1867 to replace an earlier stone tower lighthouse constructed in 1848-49. A Fresnel lens was installed in 1856, replacing a kerosene lantern. At one time, the light here was rated at 90,000 candlepower. The steel tower you see on the left is 60 feet high, and was built in 1927 to hold an acetylene gas light, which was not electrified until 1937. This made the old light obsolete.

The building, last rebuilt in 1933, is now a public museum associated with Fort Wilkins State Park. The property is owned by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. To reach the lighthouse, visitors must take a 20-minute trip on the Star of Keweenaw tour boat, which departs several times daily from the Copper Harbor Marina.

The original Copper Harbor Lighthouse shares honors with the Whitefish Point Light as the oldest lightstations on Lake Superior.

Three ships were lost in Copper Harbor near this lighthouse and were never recovered: the John Jacob Astor (1844), City of Superior (1857) and the Wasaga (1910). No lives were lost in any of these wrecks.

For more information about this light, visit the Copper Harbor Lightshouse page published by the Copper Harbor Chamber of Commerce.

Southeast Close Up	South Close Up	South Water View
North Water View	Asst. Keeper's House 1	Asst. Keeper's House 2