SKU: 5483

L'Anse was like many small towns in the copper rich regions of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It sought to prepare for the dramatic rise in shipping during the mid 1800s. Shortly after Congress approved $10,000 to establish a light at L'Anse, the Financial Panic of 1873 hit the nation and ore shipments from Lake Superior stopped. Expecting the shipping boom to reappear, the Lighthouse Board changed the request for appropriation to allow construction of the light anywhere in the harbor. A new site was selected across the bay from L'Anse at Sand Point. Finally, in 1878 the schoolhouse style lighthouse was built and served to transport lumber from the saw mills around Lake Superior's Keweenaw Bay. Automated in 1922 it was deactivated in the 1930's and passed into private ownership. It is unclear as to when the outer wooden porch was added, covering the simplistic beauty of the original construction. Today it is owned by the Keweenaw Bay Indian community and rests on private property.

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