Over the years, hundreds of thousands of ships have passed by Cana Island on their way to ports across the Great Lakes region. These ships depended on lighthouses to help navigate and avoid dangerous stretches of water.
Located a few miles north of Baileys Harbor, the Cana Island lighthouse was strategically situated between North Bay and Moonlight Bay. Ships could take refuge in either harbor before they encountered the treacherous waters of Death's Door at the northern tip of the Door Peninsula.
Construction on the Cana Island lighthouse was completed in November of 1869. The lighthouse consisted of a keeper's house and a light tower and was similar in design to other Great Lakes lighthouses.
The Cana Island Lighthouse
Image: Door County Maritime Museum
The Cana Island lighthouse is situated on a small island connected to the mainland by a three hundred foot long limestone causeway. A causeway that may be underwater depending on the water levels in Lake Michigan.
The keeper's house and the light tower were both constructed out of Milwaukee cream city brick and sit on limestone foundations. The keeper's house has a wooden frame while the light tower has a metal frame. In 1901, the light tower was encased by fifteen tiers of riveted steel cladding due to rapid weathering of the brick.
The Cana Island Grounds
The oil house was built in 1890 to store highly flammable mineral and kerosene oil. The building is made of limestone found on the island and has a distinctive hexagonal floor plan.
The privy was built in 1906 out of brick. Notably, the privy has two seats.
The stone perimeter wall was built between 1919 and 1922 by Head Keeper Oscar Knutsen and his assistant keepers.
In the past, other structures such as a boathouse, a large barn, a small barn, an icehouse, a summer kitchen and stone wall archways stood on the Cana Island grounds.
A Keeper's Pet Deer
Image: Door County Maritime Museum
While living at Cana Island, Head Keeper Ross Wright and his family kept a pet deer called Oscarina on the grounds. According to the lighthouse's logbook, Wright may have acquired the deer from the state game farm.
The Cana Island lighthouse was staffed by both a head and assistant lighthouse keeper. They were employees of the United States Lighthouse Service who were tasked with watching over the light. To aid them in the duties, each keeper received a copy of Instructions to Light-Keepers from the Lighthouse Service.
From 1869 to 1944, eight head keepers and twenty-two assistant keepers, along with their families, have called Cana Island home.
The keepers and their families stayed in the keeper's house on Cana Island during the annual shipping season. The head keeper and his family occupied the first floor while the assistant keepers, who were mostly young single men, lived on the second floor.
Excerpts from Instructions to Light-Keepers
“The keeper is responsible for the care and management of the light, and for the station in general. He must enforce a careful attention to duty on the part of his assistants; and the assistants are strictly enjoined to render prompt obedience to his lawful orders.”
“Watches must be kept at all stations where there is an assistant. The keeper on watch must remain in the watchroom and give continuous attention to the light while he is on duty.”
“The keeper is responsible for the careful management and expenditure of stores and supplies. He must practice the strictest economy compatible with maintaining at all times the best possible light; and he must be careful to prevent waste, theft, or misapplication of light-house property.”
“The keeper shall take in an equal share in all the work and duties of the station with the assistant keepers.”
“Keepers must be courteous and polite to all visitors who conform to the regulations, and show them everything of interest about the station at such times as it will not interfere with their light-house duties.”
“Keepers must not allow visitors to handle the apparatus or deface light-house property. Special care must be taken to prevent the scratching of names or initials on the glass of the lanterns or on the windows of the towers.”
“The utmost neatness of buildings and premises is demanded. Bedrooms, as well as other parts of the dwelling, must be neatly kept. Untidiness will be strongly reprehended, and its continuance will subject a keeper to dismissal.”
Food at Cana Island
The Lighthouse Service provided the keepers and their families with staple foods like meat, flour, rice, sugar and coffee. A garden and fruit trees located on the island further supplemented the keepers' diets. Some keepers also kept farm animals on the grounds, or hunted and fished nearby.
Lighthouse keeping was often a family affair. Many keepers had family in the Lighthouse Service, who either worked alongside them at Cana Island or were stationed at other area lighthouses. Even family members who weren't formally employed by the Service contributed to the smooth operation of the Cana Island lighthouse by helping with daily chores like cleaning, cooking, gardening and repair work.
While the head lighthouse keepers were all men, until 1882 the assistant keeper position at Cana Island was filled by the head keeper's wives. Caroline Jackson, Sara Warren and Sarah Sanderson served alongside Head Keepers William Jackson, Julius Warren and William Sanderson respectively.
Two sons of lighthouse keepers also served as assistant keepers under their father. Clifford Sanderson, son of William and Sarah Sanderson, not only served as assistant keeper, but eventually returned to Cana Island to serve as head keeper from 1924 to 1933.
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A Visit from the Lighthouse Inspector
Image: Door County Maritime Museum
Lighthouse inspectors periodically stopped at the Cana Island lighthouse to review the facilities and records and to evaluate the performance of the lighthouse keepers. They traveled aboard tender ships from depots in cities like Detroit, Milwaukee, and Duluth to various Great Lakes lighthouses.
Lighthouse keepers who received top ratings on these inspections could hope to earn a special commendation flag, star, or certificate from the inspector.
Lighthouse inspectors also brought traveling libraries with them on their visits. Each traveling library consisted of fifty books about topics ranging from religion and history to poetry and fiction. Lighthouse keepers could even request specific books to be brought!
Children at Cana Island
Children were a major part of life at the Cana Island lighthouse.
Head Keeper Conrad Stram's son, Matthew, was born at Cana Island in 1917. When Stram reported the baby's birth to the lighthouse inspector, the inspector responded with a letter authorizing Stram to grant the “visitor” a permanent residence at Cana Island.
Visitors to Cana Island
Up until the 1930s, most trips to and from the island were made via boat. However, this didn't stop lighthouse keepers and their families from traveling to nearby towns or other people from visiting Cana Island.
Ascending the light tower was as popular with visitors historically as it is in the present day. In 1932 alone, Head Keeper Clifford Sanderson recorded taking nearly 2000 people up and down the stairs of the tower.
The keeper's logbook also notes visits from family and friends as well as parties of picnickers from nearby Baileys Harbor and Sister Bay.
While the primary duty of the lighthouse keeper was to ensure that the beacon remained lit throughout the night, the keeper also had other responsibilities, including keeping the lighthouse tidy, providing assistance to sailors and maintaining careful records of weather conditions and passing vessels.
The Cana Island logbook provides insight into daily life at the lighthouse. In the logbook, the keepers detailed the routine chores needed to maintain the facilities, like painting the light tower or cleaning the cistern. They also noted more unusual occurrences, such as astronomical events, technological developments and nearby shipwrecks.
Overall, life at Cana Island could be tough. The location was considered remote for much of its history and the keeper's job was grueling. Turnover amongst assistant keepers was high with one assistant keeper even quitting the Service via telephone when he was visiting Sturgeon Bay.
Lighthouse Keepers Logbook
October 1880 The 16th day of this month prevailed the heaviest gale of wind. The most destructive ever known on the lake. The sea at this station making a clean break into the house.
October 1, 1882
Upon the first of this month the assistant keeper at this Station was removed and also at other stations in this district for lack of funds to pay for salaries as Congress failed to make an appropriation sufficient to pay assistant keepers. Which cannot be considered less than a disgrace to any Civilized Government on the face of the earth.
May 5, 1884
The position of assistant keeper granted at this Station again.
November 17, 1886
Wind northeast. Most terrific gale for years. The grounds and house were flooded with water. The sea breaking over the bank and all around the dwelling. The bank on the northeast side torn away by the force of the sea
May 1, 1910
Halley's Comet seen east 3:30 am.
February 3, 1919
Started to build cribs between island and mainland.
February 4, 1919
Building the cribs.
February 10, 1919
Gathering logs along the beach for the cribs.
February 12, 1919
Filling the cribs with stone. Lincoln's birthday.
February 13, 1919
Rain northeast gale.
February 15, 1919
The crib work washed away during this storm.
October 4, 1928
Cool and thick fog on the lake. Steamer M.J. Bartelme ran aground south side of Island at 1 pm. Did not know for certain boat was stranded until 3 pm. when fog lifted so we could see it.
Telephoned Baileys Harbor Coast Guard Station and they arrived at 4 pm. and are at the steamer. There is a heavy sea running from the South.
May 13, 1934
At 2 am, a bird flew through the plate glass in the tower making a hole 15 inches in diameter and chipping the lens.
Standing eighty-nine feet above the surface of Lake Michigan, the beacon at Cana Island has guided sailors ever since it was first lit on January 28th in 1870. The beacon still uses the lighthouse's original third order Fresnel lens, the oldest still operational Fresnel lens in Wisconsin.
To carry out their duties, the lighthouse keepers had to climb up ninety-seven steps to the top of the tower several times each night to check on the beacon. In the early years, the beacon's lantern was fueled by lard oil, requiring the keepers to continuously refuel the lantern with liquified lard.
By 1882, the lantern started burning mineral oil instead. While mineral oil was highly flammable, it burned brighter and cleaner than the lard oil of yesteryears. In 1934, electricity had come to the Cana Island lighthouse after the U.S. Coast Guard installed two diesel generators on site. The lighthouse was fully automated in 1944, removing the need for lighthouse keepers at the station.
The Fresnel Lens
The Fresnel lens was invented by French physicist Augustin Fresnel in 1822. The lens consists of layers of multi-faceted glass prisms mounted in a brass frame. It became commonly used in lighthouses due to capturing and focusing light more efficiently compared to past methods, allowing as little as twenty percent of the light to be lost.
Fresnel lenses come in different sizes, called orders. First order lenses are the largest and were primarily used in lighthouses located on the sea coast. On the Great Lakes, smaller order lenses, like the third and fourth order, were more commonly used.
The Cana Island lighthouse uses a third order Fresnel lens. The lens was built in Paris, France. It stood at 5 feet tall and weighed almost one ton.
Maintaining the Beacon
Part of the lighthouse keeper's duties was the maintenance of the beacon. According to Instructions to Light-Keepers, all keepers must be familiar with the workings and mechanisms of the beacon in their charge.
The book also details how the beacon should be cleaned and maintained. The glass and lens were to be cleaned daily with a soft linen cloth. If necessary, the lens was to be polished using rouge to help remove scratches.
The Role of Lighthouses in Navigation
Each lighthouse has a unique daymark consisting of a distinct combination of colors, patterns, and shapes. These daymarks helped ships easily identify lighthouses during the daytime, thus allowing lighthouses to be used as navigational markers.
In the nighttime, daymarks weren't visible. Instead, the sailors relied on the lighthouse's light patterns for navigation. Light patterns consisted of unique patterns of light flashes. Some beacons shone continuously while others alternated between light and dark periods at fixed intervals
In 1939, the Lighthouse Service was merged with the United States Coast Guard, transferring responsibility for the operation of lighthouses to the Coast Guard. During World War II, Cana Island served as a location for training military personnel.
However, after the end of the war, the Coast Guard leased out the keeper's house to the McCarthy family. Then, from 1977 to 1995, the Janda family served as caretakers at Cana Island, helping preserve the lighthouse by carrying out much needed repairs.
Today, the Cana Island lighthouse remains operational and still guides sailors on the Great Lakes. The Door County Maritime Museum in partnership with the Coast Guard and the County of Door manages the lighthouse, opening the historic site to visitors from around the world.
'Illuminating Cana Island'
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