Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum & Whitefish Point Light Station

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum

A giant freighter passes Whitefish Point, where some 200 of the 550 known Lake Superior shipwrecks have occurred. In the foreground is the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, site of Superior's first lighthouse.

The former Coast Guard complex at Whitefish Point forms the core of this dramatic and extremely popular museum. Touring the museum, seeing the presentation in the theater, visiting the lighthouse quarters, and walking around the site can easily take at least two hours. Don't miss the paths to the lakeshore by the bird observatory!

The exhibit space of the main museum building uses eerie, somber music and dramatic lighting in an otherwise dim room to convey the haunting world of underwater shipwrecks. Models of boats which have sunk in Superior are juxtaposed with items brought up from the depths, such as a ship's bell from the schooner Niagara, sunk in 1887, or a carved eagle from the steamer Vienna, sunk in 1892. Narrative text describes causes of shipwrecks (excessive speed, anchoring inadvertently in a shipping lane, violent storms), which adds to the drama. The centerpiece of the main exhibit area is a giant second-order Fresnel lighthouse lens 12' high, dwarfing ones typically seen. Its light casts irregular patterns on the dim floor and ceiling.

The Edmund Fitzgerald.

The Edmund Fitzgerald exhibit caps the main museum. The museum spearheaded the bell recovery project. A ship's bell symbolizes the connection of crew and ship. The museum has produced an excellent short film, shown here, on the bell's recovery by divers and on the Fitzgerald's history. It was once "Queen of the Lakes"—the largest ship on the lakes. Boatwatchers always especially liked it.

A lighthouse here, Lake Superior's first, was built in 1849. The first stone light tower was already suffering from erosion as the Civil War loomed on the nation's horizon. President Lincoln authorized construction of the current keeper's quarters and "iron pile" skeletal light tower, which has held up ever since 1861.
In the lighthouse, the duplex lightkeeper quarters have been carefully restored to mint, like-new condition. The quarters of Keeper Robert Carlson, who served from 1903 to 1931, have been restored to the time period of 1920 with remarkable accuracy, thanks to detailed memories from his granddaughter, Bertha Endress Rollo, who grew up there.

Lighthouse life is vividly conveyed in the visual details and in the displays in the other side of the duplex. Life was meticulous in routine and upkeep. Families were necessarily close-knit. Reading and nature study were natural activities. "It is a lonely life, but also in a way, a noble life," wrote Keeper Carlson.

The light station and Coast Guard complex, now owned by the extraordinarily successful Shipwreck Museum, are in tip-top condition. The Whitefish Point Coast Guard Life Boat Station goes back to 1923. Now it has been completely restored. The lifeboat house can be toured, with a replica 26' surfboat and other exhibits. Upstairs are five guest rooms. (See Lodgings.)

To gain a good sense of this significant place, you might want to see the museum first, then and go up to a bench on the Hawk Hill overlook behind the museum and take in the point, the light tower, and its natural surroundings. Find Hawk Hill by taking the boardwalk back between museum buildings. The Hawk Hill overlook, up 28 steps, is used for bird counts during migrations. A map of the trails at Whitefish Point is available at the nearby Whitefish Point Bird Observatory.

Looking out onto the light station and Whitefish Bay, it's easy to see how the shore between Whitefish Point and Munising, unprotected from weather systems, had become known as the "Shipwreck Coast" as early as 1846. The influential New York newspaperman Horace Greeley (best known for his aphorism, "Go West, young man!") visited Lake Superior and mounted a campaign to protect ships with navigational aids.

The large and attractive museum store carries maritime history books and videos, nautical items, souvenir sweatshirts, etc., lighthouse collectibles, children's books, and much more. They are sold online, too. The store's building looks old but is actually new—considered poor practice by historic preservationists, who don't like to blur the boundaries between old and new.

In 1985 much of the Coast Guard station became the home of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, founded by diver Tom Farnquist, now Director Emeritus. Then he was a Sault Ste. Marie junior high biology teacher. Tom and other Great Lakes divers, concerned about the loss of shipwreck artifacts, wanted to share the excitement and history of shipwrecks with a wider public. He became expert at underwater photography. And he adroitly marshaled volunteers and grants to develop the museum and the society into nationally prominent organizations. The society continues to look for new shipwreck sites and to organize diving projects.

The multifaceted museum shipwreckmuseum.com>web siteweb site, shipwreckmuseum.com, includes a virtual tour, updates on museum activities, and much more.

Take M-123 north to the end of Whitefish Point Rd., 11 miles beyond Paradise. Administrative office (906) 635-1742. Open from May 1 through October 31, daily 10-6. Adults $13, children $9, ages 5 and under free. Families (2 parents and 2+ children under 17) $35. Wheelchair accessible: museum, boathouse, but not theater or lighthouse.
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