Split Rock Lighthouse

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title: "Split Rock Lighthouse" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["historic-american-engineering-record-in-minnesota", "lighthouses-completed-in-1910", "lighthouses-on-the-national-register-of-historic-places-in-minnesota", "minnesota-historical-society", "minnesota-state-historic-sites", "national-historic-landmark-lighthouses", "national-historic-landmarks-in-minnesota", "octagonal-buildings-in-the-united-states", "national-register-of-historic-places-in-lake-county,-minnesota", "1910-establishments-in-minnesota", "lighthouses-of-lake-superior"] topic_path: "engineering" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_Rock_Lighthouse" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox lighthouse"]

FieldValue
imageSpit Rock Lighthouse 2012.jpg
captionSplit Rock Lighthouse in June 2012
locationSplit Rock Lighthouse State Park, Beaver Bay Township, Lake County, Minnesota
coordinates
yearlit1910
yeardeactivated1969
foundationstone
shapeOctagonal
height54 ft tower on a 130 ft cliff
lens3rd order, bi-valve type Fresnel lens
range22 nmi
characteristic0.5-second flash every 9.5 seconds
module{{Infobox NRHP
embedyes
nameSplit Rock Lighthouse
nrhp_typenhl
nearest_cityTwo Harbors, Minnesota
addedJune 23, 1969
designated_nrhp_typeJune 23, 2011
refnum69000073
embedyes
nameSplit Rock Lighthouse museum
logoSplitrock lighthouse logo horizontal 2color-1.png
logo_upright0.8
imageSplit Rock Lighthouse - Minnesota - 15832049432.jpg
captionVisitors at Split Rock Lighthouse.
Fog Horn House in the foreground.
established1969
coordinates
location3713 Split Rock Lighthouse Rd.,
Two Harbors, Minnesota USA
typeHistory Museum
visitors160,000
employeesHayes Scriven, Lighthouse Keeper
websitehttps://www.mnhs.org/splitrock/
::

| image = Spit Rock Lighthouse 2012.jpg | caption = Split Rock Lighthouse in June 2012 | location = Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, Beaver Bay Township, Lake County, Minnesota | coordinates = | yearlit = 1910 | yeardeactivated = 1969 | foundation = stone | shape = Octagonal | height = 54 ft tower on a 130 ft cliff | lens = 3rd order, bi-valve type Fresnel lens | range = 22 nmi | characteristic =0.5-second flash every 9.5 seconds | module = {{Infobox NRHP | embed = yes | name = Split Rock Lighthouse | nrhp_type = nhl | nearest_city = Two Harbors, Minnesota | added = June 23, 1969 | designated_nrhp_type = June 23, 2011 | refnum = 69000073 |embed = yes |name = Split Rock Lighthouse museum |logo = Splitrock lighthouse logo horizontal 2color-1.png |logo_upright = 0.8 |image = Split Rock Lighthouse - Minnesota - 15832049432.jpg |caption = Visitors at Split Rock Lighthouse. Fog Horn House in the foreground. |established = 1969 |coordinates = |location = 3713 Split Rock Lighthouse Rd., Two Harbors, Minnesota USA |type = History Museum |visitors = 160,000 |employees = Hayes Scriven, Lighthouse Keeper |website = https://www.mnhs.org/splitrock/ Split Rock Lighthouse is a lighthouse located southwest of Silver Bay, Minnesota, US on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The structure was designed by lighthouse engineer Ralph Russell Tinkham and was completed in 1910 by the United States Lighthouse Service for $75,000, including the buildings and the land. It is considered one of the most picturesque lighthouses in the United States.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Split_Rock_Lighthouse_Blueprint.jpg" caption="Madeira]]'', is located just north of the lighthouse."] ::

The lighthouse stands on a 133 ft sheer cliff eroded by wave action from a diabase sill containing inclusions of anorthosite. The octagonal building is a steel-framed brick structure with concrete trim on a concrete foundation set into the rock of the cliff. It is topped with a large, steel lantern which features a third order, bi-valve type Fresnel lens manufactured by Barbier, Bernard and Turenne Company in Paris. The tower was built for a second-order lens, but when construction went over budget, only enough funding remained for the smaller third-order lens. The lens floats on a bearing surface of liquid mercury which allows near frictionless operation. The lens is rotated by an elaborate clockwork mechanism that is powered by weights running down the center of the tower which are then reset by cranking them back to the top. When completed, the lighthouse was lit with a kerosene oil vapor lamp.

At the time of its construction, the area had no roads. All building materials and supplies arrived by water and were lifted to the top of the cliff by crane. The lamp was first lit on July 31, 1910. The lighthouse soon became a tourist attraction for sailors and excursion boats thanks to its scenic location. So much so, that in 1924 a road (now Minnesota State Highway 61) was built to allow land access.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Split_Rock_Lighthouse_circa_June_1949_(Ware_01).jpg" caption="The lighthouse in June 1949"] ::

In 1940, the station was electrified, the lamp was replaced with a 1000-watt electric bulb, and the incandescent oil vapor lamp was moved to Au Sable Point Lighthouse in Northern Michigan. Split Rock was upgraded with a fog signal housed in a building next to the light tower. The original signal was a pair of sirens driven by two Franklin 30 hp gasoline-driven air compressors manufactured by Chicago Pneumatic Tool Company. In 1932 gasoline engines were replaced with diesel engines. The steam sirens were replaced with a Type F-2-T diaphone (be-you) type signal in 1936. The station and the fog signal were electrified four years later, but discontinued in 1961.

The light was retired in 1969 by the U.S. Coast Guard. The lighthouse is now part of the Split Rock Lighthouse State Park and is operated by the Minnesota Historical Society. The site includes the original tower and lens, the fog signal building, the oil house, and the three keepers' houses. It is restored to appear as it did in the late 1920s. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. Notwithstanding its retirement, every November 10 the lighthouse emits a light in memory of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald which sank on that date in 1975. On June 30, 2011, the lighthouse was designated as a National Historic Landmark.

The lighthouse keeper, Lee Radzak, worked at the lighthouse from 1982 to 2019, the longest tenure of any lighthouse keeper at the site.

In art

The United States Postal Service issued a stamp that featured the light on June 17, 1995. It was one of five lighthouses chosen for the "Lighthouses of the Great Lakes" series postage stamp designed by Howard Koslow in 1995. There was one lighthouse chosen on each of the Great Lakes. The five lighthouses are Split Rock Light on Lake Superior, St Joseph Light on Lake Michigan, Spectacle Reef Light on Lake Huron, Marblehead Light (Ohio) on Lake Erie and Thirty Mile Point Light on Lake Ontario.

Because of its picturesque form and location, it has been the subject of many photographs and postcards. The lighthouse was also in the 2013 film The Great Gatsby.

Gallery

File:Fresnel lenses rotating at Split Rock Lighthouse.webm File:Interior stairs at Split Rock Lighthouse.jpg|Interior stairs in Lighthouse File:Split Rock Lighthouse evening.jpg|Distance view Image:SplitRockLighthouse AerialView.jpg|Aerial view File:Lighthouse keepers' homes.jpg|Lighthouse keepers' dwellings File:Fog Signal Building, Split Rock Lighthouse.jpg|Fog signal building File:Split Rock Lighthouse - Lake County, Minnesota - 8 Jan. 2009.jpg|Lighthouse in winter Image:Splitrockconstruction_1909.jpg|Construction, 1909 File:Split Rock Lighthouse (1986835377).jpg|Light illuminated File:3rd-order,_Fresnel_lens_at_Split_Rock.jpg|3rd-order, Fresnel lens File:Mercury_bowl_and_float_of_Split_Rock_lens.jpg|Mercury bowl and float of Fresnel lens File:North Shore Trip - Fall 2012 - Split Rock Clockworks (8061058683).jpg|Lighthouse lens crank File:1968-09-XX - Russell Split Rock Lighthouse - Minnesota.jpg|September 1968

Records

Original, microfilmed, and photocopied records of the lighthouse keepers, containing daily entries on station activities and upkeep; expenditures; weather; shipping conditions; visitors; and social events on Lake Superior's north shore during the shipping season are available for research use at the Minnesota Historical Society.

References

References

  1. {{NRISref. 2008a
  2. Kerr, Euan. (2019-04-10). "36 years of shining a light on Split Rock's history comes to an end".
  3. Ibrahim, Mohamed. (2019-10-14). "He's a keeper: Split Rock Lighthouse gets new boss".
  4. (1982). "Minnesota's Geology". University of Minnesota Press.
  5. Pepper, Terry. (2003). "Split Rock Light". [http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/index.htm Seeing The Light: Lighthouses of the western Great Lakes].
  6. Buchta, Jim. (2010). "Beacon on the shore: On its 100th anniversary, Split Rock Lighthouse remains one of the state's most popular tourist attractions". [[Star Tribune]].
  7. (June 30, 2011). "AMERICA'S GREAT OUTDOORS: Secretary Salazar Designates 14 New National Historic Landmarks".
  8. Desmond, Declan. (February 16, 2019). "Split Rock Lighthouse's longest-serving keeper retiring".
  9. "Stamp images, Great Lakes Lighthouses.".
  10. "Split Rock Lighthouse stamp.".
  11. (September 2018). "Postage stamp artwork, Split Rock Lighthouse Stamp.}}{{Dead link".
  12. [http://www.postagestampart.com/Spectacle-Reef-Lighthouse-p71.html Postage stamp artwork, Spectacle Reef Lighthouse Stamp.]{{dead link. (May 2018)
  13. [http://www.postagestampart.com/Marblehead-Lighthouse-p72.html Postage stamp artwork, Marblehead Lighthouse Stamp.]{{dead link. (May 2018)
  14. (September 2018). "Postage stamp artwork, Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse Stamp.}}{{Dead link".
  15. link. (2011-07-19)
  16. "SPLIT ROCK LIGHTHOUSE: An Inventory of Their Records at the Minnesota Historical Society". Minnesota Historical Society.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

historic-american-engineering-record-in-minnesotalighthouses-completed-in-1910lighthouses-on-the-national-register-of-historic-places-in-minnesotaminnesota-historical-societyminnesota-state-historic-sitesnational-historic-landmark-lighthousesnational-historic-landmarks-in-minnesotaoctagonal-buildings-in-the-united-statesnational-register-of-historic-places-in-lake-county,-minnesota1910-establishments-in-minnesotalighthouses-of-lake-superior