siskokid
Whitefish Point Light
Whitefish Point is located on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at the extreme southeastern end of Lake Superior. It is a critical turning point for all vessel traffic entering and leaving this largest of all the Great Lakes. The Whitefish Point Light Station was established by Congress in 1849, and is the oldest operating lighthouse on Lake Superior. The present light tower was constructed in 1861 during Abraham Lincoln’s administration. Whitefish Point marks the eastern end of a notorious 80-mile stretch of shoreline stretching west to Munising, known ominously as Lake Superior’s Shipwreck Coast. Of the 550 known major shipwrecks lying on the bottom of the lake, at least 200 of them are in the vicinity of Whitefish Point. The 1975 loss of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald with her entire crew of 29 has become a world-wide legend. The wreck of the Fitzgerald lies just 15 miles northwest of Whitefish Point. The Light Station was operated exclusively by the U.S. Lighthouse Service from 1849 until 1923, when the U.S. Coast Guard established a Lifeboat Rescue Station here. The Lighthouse Service merged with the Coast Guard in 1939 and the Coast Guard closed the Lifeboat Station in 1951. All personnel were taken from the site in 1970, and the station was automated in 1971. The light station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, but there was no money for restoration. In 1980, Whitefish Township approached the fledgling Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society for assistance in preserving this important property. The Society obtained a license from the Coast Guard in 1983 to commence museum operations and opened the first exhibits in 1985. The present Shipwreck Museum Building opened in 1987 and features the Edmund Fitzgerald's bell which was recovered from the wreck in 1995 and is rung each November 10th, the anniversary of the sinking, in memory of the 29 crewmen of the Fitzgerald.
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
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Whitefish Point Light
Whitefish Point is located on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at the extreme southeastern end of Lake Superior. It is a critical turning point for all vessel traffic entering and leaving this largest of all the Great Lakes. The Whitefish Point Light Station was established by Congress in 1849, and is the oldest operating lighthouse on Lake Superior. The present light tower was constructed in 1861 during Abraham Lincoln’s administration. Whitefish Point marks the eastern end of a notorious 80-mile stretch of shoreline stretching west to Munising, known ominously as Lake Superior’s Shipwreck Coast. Of the 550 known major shipwrecks lying on the bottom of the lake, at least 200 of them are in the vicinity of Whitefish Point. The 1975 loss of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald with her entire crew of 29 has become a world-wide legend. The wreck of the Fitzgerald lies just 15 miles northwest of Whitefish Point. The Light Station was operated exclusively by the U.S. Lighthouse Service from 1849 until 1923, when the U.S. Coast Guard established a Lifeboat Rescue Station here. The Lighthouse Service merged with the Coast Guard in 1939 and the Coast Guard closed the Lifeboat Station in 1951. All personnel were taken from the site in 1970, and the station was automated in 1971. The light station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, but there was no money for restoration. In 1980, Whitefish Township approached the fledgling Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society for assistance in preserving this important property. The Society obtained a license from the Coast Guard in 1983 to commence museum operations and opened the first exhibits in 1985. The present Shipwreck Museum Building opened in 1987 and features the Edmund Fitzgerald's bell which was recovered from the wreck in 1995 and is rung each November 10th, the anniversary of the sinking, in memory of the 29 crewmen of the Fitzgerald.
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
A cool way to view mine or anyone else's photostream is on fluidr.