The Potawatomi Lighthouse on Rock Island , originally
built in 1836, and restored in 1858 because of faulty mortar, was named after the Native American tribes that settled there.
Constructed on a 137-foot bluff overlooking Lake Michigan it was the first lighthouse built by the U.S. Government. To get
there is only a 1.3 mile trek across a sandbar that attaches Rock Island to Washington Island. Or, if you do not want to get
your feet a little wet you can board a ferry throughout the summer months for a ten-minute ride to the entrance to Rock Island
State Park. From the Boat House, where the ferry loads and unloads, it is only a one to 2 .5 mile trek through a beautifully
wooded area to the lighthouse. If you want to explore the entire island there is a trail that is 6.5 miles long around the
perimeter.
Below: Along the hike on Rock Island to
(or from) the Potawatomi Lighthouse if you know the exact spot and location you can see these carvings in rocks below a small
cliff area on the southeast side near the entrance to the Boat House and state park area. I am sure someone knows the approximate
year the carvings were made. I don't. I am hoping someone who sees this website will inform me.
Above:
Where Green Bay meets Lake Michigan in waters known as Porte des mortes, (Death's Door), sits the Plum Island Range
Lighthouse on Plum Island. To the right is the former brick keeper's house and quarters, which is no longer occupied. Death's
Door was appropriately named by Indian tribes whose canoes were repeatedly swamped by the strong currents and sometimes
huge waves through that particular channel causing the loss of many lives.
The Pilot Island Lighthouse sits on the small
island by the same name about two miles off the mainland of the Door County Peninsula. Built in the early 1800's the lighthouse
was too far off couse for the ships to be properly guided through the treacherous waters of Death's Door. That was the main
reason for the construction of the Plum Island Lighthouse.
The passenger ferry from Washington Island docks at the
Boat House on Rock Island, the entrance to the Rock Island State Park. The Potawatomi Lighthouse is at the opposite end of
the island, anywhere from a one to a 2.5 mile hike on trails through a beautifuly wooded area.
