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Cana Island Lighthouse

Posted by
Steven (Chicagoland, United States) on 17 December 2020 in Architecture and Portfolio.

The Cana Island lighthouse is a lighthouse located just north of Baileys Harbor in Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The lighthouse was built to replace the Baileys Harbor Lighthouse in 1869 and was first lit in 1870. It is still used as an active navigational aid under the jurisdiction of the United States Coast Guard, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

The light itself is a third order Fresnel lens that was made in France. It used to be fueled by lard, later it was fueled by kerosene, then by acetylene, and now by electricity. The round ball at the top is the vent that removed the smoke and soot from the oil lamp. Each night oil had to be carried to the top of the tower by the keeper or his assistant to keep the light fueled. When the light first became electric in 1945, it was by an engine driven, 2 kW generator, and batteries that powered the 100 watt, 32 volt bulb. A powerline was finally installed in the 1960s, and the bulb was switched to a 110 volt, 200 watt bulb. Four bulbs are mounted in a rack that allows for the next bulb to light if the one before it burns out.

Since the 1970s, both the lighthouse and its keeper's quarters are open for visitors to tour by means of the Door County Maritime Museum. Unfortunately, because of the coronavirus pandemic, it was closed to tours and visitors, so we only got to stroll around the island, but couldn't make our way inside. This limited our time on the island as well as they could only allow so many people on the island at any given time. So my photographing was quite limited.

Photo captured August 18, 2020.

NIKON D7000 1/750 second F/6.7 ISO 902 18 mm

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Spotlight Images

Marie from Villages du Lac de Paladru, France

Interesting note. The ground around this beautiful lighthouse reminds me of the green of a golf course as it is so well maintained.

17 Dec 2020 5:30am

Jypyä Pop from Turku, Finland

The lighthouses are interesting. There are also lighthouses on the Finnish coast that tourists can visit.

17 Dec 2020 6:25am

claudine/canelle from Lorient, France

Très interessantes explications , cette construction reste très originale .....

17 Dec 2020 7:16am

Doug from Burnham-on-Sea, United Kingdom

An interesting and beautiful lighthouse, the construction appears fascinating looking at that unusual exterior. A pity you could not go in but in these strange times we have to remain safe.

17 Dec 2020 7:53am

Hiro from Kyoto, Japan

Good looking lighthouse

17 Dec 2020 8:40am

Maryse from Bordeaux, France

Merci pour toutes les explications concernant ce beau phare ! Tout comme Marie je suis impressionnée par la beauté et la propreté du lieu qui m'a bizarrement fait penser aux abords du cimetière américain de Colleville-sur-Mer en Normandie (France), abords où tout semble tiré au cordeau, ou pas un brin d'herbe ne dépasse.....
Bonne journée Steven

17 Dec 2020 8:57am

Willy from Belgium

Une très belle vue sur ce phare Steve

merci pour les explications intéressantes

have a nice day

17 Dec 2020 10:08am

grouser from Ludlow, United Kingdom

An excellent capture of this lighthouse and backstory to go with it. Lard power, you could fry chips at the same time :)

17 Dec 2020 10:31am

Shaun from Massachusetts, United States

Excellent look at this lighthouse and great information Steven.

17 Dec 2020 10:45am

Ana Lúcia from Leiria, Portugal

;) beautiful lighthouse. Nice light.

17 Dec 2020 11:18am

lisl from Bath, United Kingdom

Interesting write-up to your excellent picture, Steven

17 Dec 2020 1:21pm

mo.langel from Courtelary, Switzerland

Superb lighthouse, beautiful place!

17 Dec 2020 2:10pm

Sam from Chennai, India

A fine capture of this beautiful light house. Excellent. And interesting information. :)

17 Dec 2020 4:00pm

Ruthiebear from Titusville, NJ, United States

You have composed this beautifully.

17 Dec 2020 4:20pm

Existence Artistique from Angers, France

bien la tour

17 Dec 2020 4:23pm

jpla from Anjou, France

excellent partage

17 Dec 2020 4:48pm

Remus from Portugal

Beautiful green surroundings.
Beautiful image. Well chosen point of view.

17 Dec 2020 6:23pm

Olivier from Manage, Belgium

nice place

17 Dec 2020 7:21pm

Steve Rice from Olympia, United States

That's a unique looking lighthouse that seems to be made of metal. The keeper's quarters looks quite lovely, too. A really good image.

17 Dec 2020 8:08pm

Hootin' Anni from Corpus Christi, United States

Beautiful in the sunlight! I enjoyed the history behind it...I never knew lard was used as fuel. I climbed a couple of lighthouses, and I tell ya, it gives a whole new respect for those keepers.

17 Dec 2020 8:54pm

Elaine Hancock from Olney, United States

This is a beautiful lighthouse. I love the architecture. Such an interesting history. Using lard to fuel the light was quite interesting!

17 Dec 2020 9:07pm

tataray from France

Wow... Vraiment magnifique, environnement très clean.

17 Dec 2020 9:19pm

Rose from United States

That is a beautiful photo. It could be used on a postcard.

17 Dec 2020 11:23pm

Ralf Kesper from Fröndenberg, Germany

A pretty beacon with interesting history.

17 Dec 2020 11:47pm

Michael Rawluk from Williams Lake, BC, Canada

That would be a wonderful place to live. An excellent shot.

18 Dec 2020 12:01am

Harry from Apex, NC, United States

the first time I was there in the late 1970s, there was a gravel path with water flowing between the stones as the approach to the island. When I was there a couple of years ago, the path seemed more solid, but I don't remember the detail. This is a nice clear shot and the breeze cooperated with flapping the flags.

18 Dec 2020 1:25am

B. Thomas from Arlington, Texas, United States

I have not seen a lighthouse with a pattern like that. You got a good outdoor shot even if you couldn't go inside at this time. Interesting history.

18 Dec 2020 1:56am

Darkelf Photography from Perth, Australia

Nicely presented lighthouse. I like the composition with the flag pole. Good information as well about its history.

18 Dec 2020 2:40am

CrashRyan from New Jersey/New York City area, United States

Gotta love lighthouses ... but I have to admit, when I think of lighthouses, Chicago is not a place I associate it with

18 Dec 2020 4:32am

@CrashRyan: This is located four hours north in Wisconsin. :-)

Elizabeth Buckalew from Flagstaff, United States

A very charming image!! Crisp, clear and colorful - they could use it for their promo pamphlets!

18 Dec 2020 4:32am

Ginnie Hart from Netherlands

So glad your limited time allowed you this textbook shot on a gorgeous day, Steven. I still can't believe that after living in Madison for 4 years, we never visited Door County!

18 Dec 2020 5:46am

jeanmadis from CHONBURI, Thailand

L'image est parfaite, ce n'est pas la "quantité" d'images qui compte, mais plutôt la "qualité"... et elle est bien présente.

18 Dec 2020 6:06am

Marjolein from Westvoorne, Netherlands

Very very good is this image of the lighthouse

18 Dec 2020 9:11am

suzanne from Bruxelles, Belgium

Une très belle vue sur ce phare si bien mis en valeur !
Beau et bon week-end :-)

18 Dec 2020 1:19pm

Calusarus from Valence, France

Very nice with these vivid colors

18 Dec 2020 1:43pm

Devi from Chennai, India

Lovely image !! Thank you for the note too!!
Have a safe weekend Steven :)))

18 Dec 2020 3:35pm

Sam from Chennai, India

Beautiful image of the light house and interesting history. :)

19 Dec 2020 5:43pm

yo from Entre Seine et Loire, France

Superbe lieu historique !
Merci pour les détails Steven !

19 Dec 2020 8:14pm

Florence from Bretagne, France

Always so interesting to read your descriptions! A great picture!

20 Dec 2020 8:53am

Lougris from Toulouse, France

Vraiment très joli !

20 Dec 2020 10:48am

sherri from Little Rock, Arkansas, United States

a stunning image

22 Dec 2020 12:51am

The Yum List from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I read a story once about a lighthouse keeper. Don't recall the name though but fascinating to think about what it must have been like.

31 Dec 2020 10:12am