The South Riding RV Travels

303

18th June 2007 - Iroquois Point MI Museums

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Michigan has more coastline (3228 miles) than any other state in the US. It also has more lighthouses than any other state. This one is just up the road from our campsite and on the edge of a First Nations (Chippewa) reservation which looks rather more prosperous than many we have passed through. This point marks the boundary  between the Chippewa and the Iroquois nations settled by battle in 1662.

The lakes are actually quite treacherous both for weather and for sandbars and rocks. Here we are quite close to Sault St Marie where the waters flow from Lake Superior into Lake Huron. The channel for the largest boats is quite tricky so the lighthouse is also a navigational beacon. The first lighthouse tower at Iroquois Point was built in 1854. It was replaced by this tower in 1870. The keepers' cottage was built in 1905 and rebuilt in 1933.
The weather can also be quite treacherous with frequent fog. Even on a clear day like today, the coast of Canada is lost in the haze. Here we are looking down from the lighthouse lamp floor onto the sand below. Only five people at a time can go up the lighthouse but as with many places up here it was not busy and we were almost on our own.
Point Iroquois first had a 6th order Fresnel lens in 1857. This is a larger 4th order lens installed in 1939 with a visibility range of around 16 miles. This lens in 19 11/16" diameter and 2' 4" high. It reduced the power required to a 1/4 and doubled the range of the original system. Today this lens would cost over a million dollars.
There are many relics in the museum including this binnacle from one of the lake steamers. It enabled the compass at the centre to remain level no matter what the waves made the ship do.
The lighthouses were usually very isolated and great efforts were made to ensure the well being of the keepers and their families. They could be cut of for weeks at a time when the weather came in for the winter. The living accommodation seems very comfortable and has all mod cons like this fairly modern cooker. Satellite navigation has largely obviated the need for the lighthouses and most have now been decommissioned. This one was in operation until 1963 when its function was replaced by an automatic light in the channel.
Every now and then we find the occasional bit of wildlife. This Monarch butterfly had in fact died which enabled us to get a better photo than we usually manage.
We had seen alternate mail boxes for air mail but this was a variation on a theme reflecting how much snow they get up here in northern Michigan.
This is the monument to Past, Present and Future Veterans at the centre of the Bay Mills Indian community.