Split Rock Light

Infobox_Lighthouse


caption = The tower of the Split Rock Lighthouse, Summer 2004
location = Silver Bay, Minnesota
coordinates = coord|47.20005|N|-91.3669|E|region:US_type:landmark
yearlit = 1910
automated = never
yeardeactivated = 1969
foundation = stone
construction =
shape = Hexagonal
height = convert|54|ft|m|sing=on tower on a convert|130|ft|m|sing=on cliff
lens = 3rd order, bi-valve type Fresnel lens
range = convert|22|mi|km
characteristic =0.5-second flash every 9.5 secondsInfobox_nrhp | name =Split Rock Lighthouse
nrhp_type = hd


caption =
nearest_city= Two Harbors, Minnesota
lat_degrees = 47
lat_minutes = 12
lat_seconds = 1
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 91
long_minutes = 22
long_seconds = 3
long_direction = W
locmapin = Minnesota
area =
built =1909
architect=
architecture=
added = June 23, 1969cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = State
refnum=69000073

Split Rock Lighthouse is a lighthouse located just south of Silver Bay, Minnesota, USA on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The structure was designed by lighthouse engineer Ralph Russell Tinkham and was completed in 1910 by the United States Lighthouse Service at a cost of $75,000, including the buildings and the land. It is built on a 130-foot (40 m) sheer cliff of anorthosite. The lighthouse was first lit on July 31, 1910. It was built in response to the loss of ships during the famous Mataafa Storm of 1905, in which 29 ships were lost on Lake Superior. [ [http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/superior/splitrock/splitrock.htm Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Split Rock Lighthouse.] ] One of these shipwrecks, the "Madeira", is located just north of the lighthouse."Compare," Great Lakes Storm of 1913.

The tower of the lighthouse is hexagonal and constructed of brick, reinforced with a steel skeleton. It is topped with a steel lantern. The lighthouse features a large third order, bi-valve type Fresnel lens (pronounced [freɪ'nel] ) manufactured by Barbier, Bernard and Turenne Company in Paris, France. The lens floats on a bearing surface of liquid mercury. Originally, the lens was rotated by an elaborate clockwork mechanism that was powered by counterweights running down the center of the tower. When completed, the lighthouse was lighted with an incandescent oil vapor lamp that burned kerosene. In 1940, the station was electrified and the lamp was replaced with a 1000 watt electric bulb.

Split Rock was also outfitted with a fog signal housed in a building next to the light tower. The original signal was a pair of steam sirens driven by two Franklin convert|30|hp|abbr=on gasoline-driven air compressors manufactured by Chicago Pneumatic Tool Company. In 1932 the gasoline engines were replaced with diesel engines. The steam sirens were replaced with a a Type F-2-T diaphone (be-you) type signal in 1936. When the station was electrified four years later, the fog signal began to be powered by electricity. The fog signal was discontinued in 1961.

The light was retired in 1969 by the U. S. Coast Guard. The lighthouse is now part of the Split Rock Lighthouse State Park and is operated by the Minnesota Historical Society. The site includes the original tower and lens, the fog signal building, the oil house, and the three keepers' houses. It is restored to appear as it did in the late 1920s. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.

References

* [http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/srl/ Split Rock Lighthouse State Historic Site]

Additional reading

* [http://www.michiganlighthouse.org/bibliography.html Bibliography on Michigan and other lighthouses.]
* Crompton, Samuel Willard & Michael J. Rhein, "The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses" (2002) ISBN 1592231020; ISBN 978-1592231027.
* Hyde, Charles K., and Ann and John Mahan. "The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes." Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995. ISBN 0814325548 ISBN 9780814325544.
* Jones, Ray & Bruce Roberts, "American Lighthouses" (Globe Pequot, September 1, 1998, 1st Ed.) ISBN 0762703245; ISBN 978-0762703241.
* Jones, Ray,"The Lighthouse Encyclopedia, The Definitive Reference" (Globe Pequot, January 1, 2004, 1st ed.) ISBN 0762727357; ISBN 978-0762727353.
* Noble, Dennis, "Lighthouses & Keepers: U. S. Lighthouse Service and Its Legacy" (Annapolis: U. S. Naval Institute Press, 1997. ISBN 1557506388; ISBN 9781557506382.
* Oleszewski, Wes, "Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses", (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
*
* Putnam, George R., "Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States", (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1933).
* Splake, T. Kilgore. "Superior Land Lights". Battle Creek, MI: Angst Productions, 1984.
* United States Coast Guard, "Aids to Navigation", (Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1945).
* [http://www.uscg.mil/History/weblighthouses/h_lhbib.asp United States Coast Guard, "Aids to Navigation Historical Bibliography".]
*
* Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, "Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia" Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1550463993.

External links

* [http://www.minnesotageek.net/gallery/splitrock/ Split Rock Lighthouse Photo Gallery]
* [http://www.businessnorth.com/aroundtheregion.asp?RID=1912 Split Rock Lighthouse is due for restoration]
* [http://www.everythingnautical.com/split-rock-lighthouse-tour.html Split Rock Lighthouse Photo Tour]