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Nov 4, 2007 11:17 pm US/Central
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Finding Minnesota: Split Rock Lighthouse
(WCCO)
If you've traveled Minnesota's North Shore at all, you've likely seen the Split Rock Lighthouse but have you taken the time to stop and check it out?
There are some things about this structure that makes it one of the most unique in the country.
The lighthouse sits above the rugged shoreline of Lake Superior, about 50 miles north of Duluth. On a sunny day, it provides a spectacular photo-op for tourists. However, it was built as a lifesaving navigation tool for the steady stream of ships dependent on this waterway.
"You think of all of World War I and all of World War II that steel was provided on the ore boats from the Iron Ranges of Minnesota being shipped across Lake Superior and down to the lower lakes," said Lee Radzak, Historic Site Manager at Split Rock. "And that was of course before radar, or any other communication with shoreline other than compasses."
The waters off Split Rock are clear and captivating on a sunny day, but during storms that often come this time of year, winds can whip up an icy spray and 25 foot swells. The picturesque north shore becomes dangerous and deadly.
"The whole shoreline is nothing but rock, and it's very deep right up to shore so they couldn't drop a lead line in, it was getting close to shore," Radzak points out.
It was a late November storm almost a century ago that prompted construction of the split rock lighthouse. The Mataafa Blow of 1905 was responsible for 30 ships being wrecked or damaged. Five years later the lighthouse was in place giving captains a better sense of where they were.
A single kerosene flame at the center of a 7-foot wide Fresnel lens could send out beam of light strong enough to be seen 22 miles off shore.
"It takes a little while to bring it up to speed, but it's one revolution every 20 seconds," explains Radzak as he winds up the clock mechanism that turns the lens. "If the keeper winds the weights all the way to the top, it will run for two hours. And as soon as those weights hit the floor on the bottom, then this will stop turning."
There was little downtime for lightkeepers who had to keep the flame going, keep the clockwork mechanism working and, if it was foggy, the fog horn operating. They received supplies via tender boats and lived isolated, but busy lives.
That all changed when roads went in as curious tourists began stopping in for a closer look.
Eventually lighthouses and lightkeepers became obsolete with the advent of radar. Split Rock was decommissioned in 1969 but, unlike others, it is virtually perfectly preserved.
The Edmund Fitzgerald did not go down off Split Rock, but it went by the lighthouse the night before. That's why every year the folks at Split Rock Lighthouse pay tribute to the ship and its men.
Once a year, the magnificent beacon is lit again and the names of those who went down on the Fitzgerald are read.
It's an opportunity to honor, not only the lives lost in these waters, but the bravery of all those who have and still do navigate their way along Minnesota's North Shore.
The anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald is Nov.10. There will be two evenings of ceremonies at the lighthouse to commemorate it; one Nov. 10 and one Nov. 11.
Since the lighthouse is only lit once a year, it's also a great opportunity to take pictures.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)