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In the 1887 Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers of the U.S. Army, a plan was developed to supplement the protection of the natural harbor at Agate Bay. On October of 1888, a contract was let for construction of the East breakwater. By 1892, work had begun on the west breakwater. Records from 1892 show over 1,300 ships entering and leaving Agate Bay.

It is to be remembered that the first shipment of iron ore left Agate Bay in August of 1884. So, within a decade, there was a drastic increase in boat traffic. This boat traffic included not only iron ore, logs being shipped, commercial/passenger traffic and coal.

On March 17, 1891 a Warranty Deed was entered into between Thomas Feigh and the U.S. government. For $1.00 Thomas Feigh sold the United States the one acre of land that the lighthouse now sits on.

Construction began on in the Spring of 1891. The light was first lit on April 15, 1892.

All of the buildings on site are original construction, except of the garage. Each building has its own unique character.


More about the Lighthouse:

Light Tower and Keeper's House

The light tower and keeper's house are attached. This allowed the keeper to go directly from his house to the tower. The tower is built three bricks thick. The house is built two bricks thick. So where the walls meet is five bricks thick. The idea behind this thickness was, with the oil that was used in lighting the lamps in the tower, there was a level of protection provided the keeper and his family.

The tower is about 12 feet square and 49'6" tall. Each room was used for a special purpose. The first room is a bedroom for the 2nd assistant keeper. The next room was the watch room. Right below the light is the cleaning room. On top is the lantern room, where the light operates from.

The current light is a 24" aero-beacon. There are two 1,000 watt bulbs in each beacon. The beacons are set in a pattern to provide information to mariners about this specific light. From this light the following pattern is established: .4 seconds of light, 4.6 seconds of darkness, .4 seconds of light and 14.6 seconds of darkness. This 20 second pattern is repeated 3 times a minute, all day, every day. This light is on at all times and totally automated from a station in Duluth.

Originally, this light had a fourth-order Fresnel lens. This lens had a device which moved in front of the lens to make a pattern. To operate this device, a series of weights and chains were used, much like a grandfather clock. The keeper had to keep winding the weights to make the light operate. The lens used oil, which was kept in the Oil House on the grounds. This light was removed in 1969 and transferred to a museum in Vermillion, Ohio.

Augustin Fresnel was a physicist who in 1822 developed the lens. If you have been to Split Rock lighthouse, you have seen a Fresnel lens. Although both France and England quickly adopted these lenses, which were far superior to anything currently being used, the first Fresnel lens was not put into place in the United States until 1841. Even ten years later there were only four such lenses in operation in the United States.

The aero-beacons were automated in 1987 and the LCHS entered into a lease for the site at that time.