These pictures were taken at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Whitefish Point, Michigan.

This is what the lighthouse keeper looked like in his uniform. He's checking his watch, and his lantern is ready for the long walk to the lighthouse to check thelights.

The Keeper had to keep a detailed journal about what went on at the lighthouse: ships that passed, visitors, supplies etc. On this table you can see the journals, hat, pipe and lamp one keeper used.

The Fresnel lens (pronounced fre nel) was like a magnifying box--the lighted wick of the lighthouse lamp burned inside this glass 'box.' The glass in the lens magnified the light hundreds of times so sailors out on the lake or ocean could see it and know where the lighthouse was. This one is about two feet tall. Below is a large one more than six feet across.

This is a huge Fresnel Lens. (Return to Top)

This is a model of a schooner--the kind of ships that sailed Lake Superior in 1872.

In 1872, the keeper's houses didn't have running water or electricity. The keeper's family pumped water at the kitchen sink using a hand pump like this one.

And they might have had an icebox like this one to keep their food cool.

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