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Photo, Print, Drawing Rock Harbor Lighthouse, Copper Harbor, Keweenaw County, MI Isle Royale National Park

[ Photos from Survey HABS MI-386  ]

More Resources

[ Drawings from Survey HABS MI-386  ]
[ Data Pages from Survey HABS MI-386  ]
[ Photo Captions from Survey HABS MI-386  ]

About this Item

Title

  • Rock Harbor Lighthouse, Copper Harbor, Keweenaw County, MI

Other Title

  • Isle Royale National Park

Names

  • Historic American Buildings Survey, creator
  • U.S. Lighthouse Service
  • Johnson, Arnold
  • Johnson, Wilford
  • Scalera, Justin R., photographer
  • McPartland, Mary, transmitter
  • U.S. National Park Service (NPS), Midwest Regional Office, sponsor
  • Isle Royale National Park, sponsor
  • Balachowski, Joseph D., project manager
  • Lindstrom, Frederick J., project manager
  • Collins, Judith E., field team
  • Naill, David E., field team
  • Hopkins, Denise A., field team
  • Kraeling, Michael A., field team
  • Boucher, Jack E., photographer

Created / Published

  • Documentation compiled after 1933

Headings

  • -  maritime
  • -  lighthouses
  • -  aids to navigation
  • -  navigation
  • -  copper mining
  • -  Michigan--Keweenaw County--Copper Harbor

Latitude / Longitude

  • 48.089798,-88.579347

Notes

  • -  Significance: After the signing of the Treaty of LaPointe in 1843 with the Chippewa Nation, Isle Royale was opened to copper exploration and mining. By 1847 more than one dozen mining companies had established sites on the island. Through pressure exerted by the mining companies and the commercial fisherman who used the island as a base of operations, the need for a light to guide and protect ships arriving with supplies was established. The anticipated opening of the Locks at Sault Saint Marie, Michigan, also influenced the decision to place a light on the island to guide ships en route to Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The first to be built on Isle Royale, Rock Harbor Lighthouse marks the entrance to Rock Harbor at the Middle Islands Passage. In 1847 the location was chosen and preliminary survey work was completed. In 1853 Congress appropriated $5000 for construction. The lighthouse was completed and lit in 1855, utilizing a fixed white light visible for 14 miles. Because shipping had declined with the decrease in mining activity on the island, the Lighthouse Service chose to extinguish the light in 1859. A renewed interest in mining in the 1870s stimulated Congress to appropriate $5000 to repair and upgrade the lighthouse. Extensive restoration work was completed in 1874 and the light was reactivated in August of that same year. A woodshed, boat house, and loading dock were also added to the site. The interest in mining subsided once again, and with the construction in 1875 of the more centrally located Isle Royale Light on Menagerie Island, it was decided to permanently extinguish the light in 1879. The turn of the century saw the lighthouse being used as a shelter for camping parties. From 1928 through 1939 commercial fisherman Arnold and Milford Johnson resided there. The lighthouse was again abandoned in 1939 when the National Park was established.
  • -  Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N170
  • -  Survey number: HABS MI-386
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1855 Initial Construction
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1874 Subsequent Work
  • -  National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 77000154

Medium

  • Photo(s): 10
  • Color Transparencies: 2
  • Measured Drawing(s): 7
  • Photo Caption Page(s): 2

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HABS MICH,42-COPHAR.V,2-

Source Collection

  • Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

Repository

Control Number

  • mi0346

Rights Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material.

Ultimately, it is the researcher's obligation to assess copyright or other use restrictions and obtain permission from third parties when necessary before publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Library's collections.

For information about reproducing, publishing, and citing material from this collection, as well as access to the original items, see: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscape Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) Collection - Rights and Restrictions Information

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: HABS MICH,42-COPHAR.V,2-
  • Access Advisory: ---

Obtaining Copies

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

  • Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
    • If possible, include a printout of the photograph.
  • Drawings--All drawings are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
    • If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
  • Data Pages
    • Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

In the rare case that a digital image for HABS/HAER/HALS documentation is not displaying online, select images for reproduction through one of these methods:

  • Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
  • P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
  • Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
  • You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
    • Make note of the Call Number listed above.
    • Look at the Medium field above. If it lists more than one item:
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      • All the items in a particular medium (e.g., all drawings, all photographs) can be ordered as photocopies or high-quality copies.

Access to Originals

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.
  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, U.S. Lighthouse Service, Arnold Johnson, Wilford Johnson, Midwest Regional Office U.S. National Park Service, Sponsor Isle Royale National Park, Joseph D Balachowski, et al., Scalera, Justin R, and Jack E Boucher, photographer. Rock Harbor Lighthouse, Copper Harbor, Keweenaw County, MI. Michigan Copper Harbor Keweenaw County, 1933. translateds by Mcpartland, Marymitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/mi0346/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, C., U.S. Lighthouse Service, Johnson, A., Johnson, W., U.S. National Park Service, M. R. O., Isle Royale National Park, S. [...] Kraeling, M. A., Scalera, J. R. & Boucher, J. E., photographer. (1933) Rock Harbor Lighthouse, Copper Harbor, Keweenaw County, MI. Michigan Copper Harbor Keweenaw County, 1933. McPartland, M., trans Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/mi0346/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, et al., photographers by Scalera, Justin R, and Jack E Boucher. Rock Harbor Lighthouse, Copper Harbor, Keweenaw County, MI. trans by Mcpartland, Marymitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/mi0346/>.