COPPER HARBOR - The Gull Rock Lighthouse, located at the tip of the Keweenaw, is featured on The Keeper's Log, a lighthouse magazine published by the U.S. Lighthouse Society.
Peter Annin, executive director of the Gull Rock Lighthouse, said it's an honor to be featured on the cover of the magazine
"We are thrilled to be featured on the cover of The Keeper's Log," Annin said. "It is a wonderful opportunity to inform the national lighthouse community about what's happening at our unique light station and our little half-acre rock."
Constructed in 1867, Gull Rock Lighthouse is located about three-quarters of the way across the channel between the tip of the Keweeanw and Manitou Island.
"Its navigational purpose was to mark the channel between Manitou Island and the tip of the Keweenaw, particularly between storms," he said.
Years ago, it was a fixed, red light and is now a flashing, white light. During a storm, it was very easy for mariners to differential between the light on Manitou Island and Gull Rock Lighthouse.
The quarterly magazine's spring issue contains the first half of a two-part series on the previously unpublished history of the remote lighthouse and the second half of the series will be featured next quarter.
"We were really flattered that they were so interested in the history of Gull Rock that they decided to do two issues," he said. "This is the flagship, national lighthouse magazine."
The five-page spread includes rare historical photos of Gull Rock, generously supplied by the Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections, Annin said.
"The historic photos show the original boathouse and dock, in addition to a dormer that was located near the southeast corner of the roof, none of which remain on Gull Rock today," he said.
The light station was automated in 1913, and it remains an active aid to navigation today maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Portage, Mich.
"While the tower and lantern room are in relatively good condition, the interior of the keeper's dwelling is in extremely bad shape," he said. "Thanks to a large hole that existed in the roof for many years, the second floor of the lighthouse has rotted and collapsed down onto the first floor."
For the past few years, a renovation to restore much of the lighthouse has aided in the replacement of the roof and floors.
The roof was replaced by Robert E. Johnson Contracting, of Lake Linden, during the summer of 2008. The keeper's dwelling features a bright red cedar shingle roof which is the same material used on the original roof back in 1867.
"We're bound and determined to restore it and, ultimately, make it accessible to the public on a limited basis," Annin said.
The roof replacement work was made possible thanks to grants from the Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Trust for Architectural Easements, as well as donations from the general public, Annin said.
Part of the building had collapsed into the cellar, as well.
"In 2008, there had been five dumpsters of debris from the lighthouse cellar, which he had to remove," he said. "The roof was replaced by the Coast Guard in 1988, but by 2008, the roof was leaking and there were more smaller holes in the roof."
Annin said fundraising efforts were successful and renovations on the lighthouse will continue into the decade.
"That was our first big step forward on the lighthouse restoration," he said.
A short YouTube video recapping the roof restoration project can be found at the following link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JKb2D50LUQ.
Other recent work includes restoration of the privy foundation, installing temporary replacement windows and bids will soon be solicited for restoration of the building's first and second floors, Annin said.
"It's an exciting time," he said.
Gull Rock Lightkeepers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the restoration of Gull Rock Lighthouse, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984.
The U.S. Lighthouse Society is a nonprofit historical and educational organization incorporated to educate, inform and entertain those who are interested in lighthouses, past and present.
