Wanderlust World Wanderlust World In 1891, the Lighthouse Board requested $15,000 to build a lighthouse on St. Martin Island. However, work on the St. Martin Lighthouse did not begin until 1902 and was not finished until 1904. The construction took much longer than anticipated, due to a lack of government funds available for the project, and constant increases in the budget. Although the lighthouse was completed in 1904, it was not manned until 1905, once again, due to a lack of government funds. Today, the island and lighthouse is owned by a private party, and is no longer in use.
The St. Martin Island Lighthouse has an extremely unique, hexagonal structure. It was built with an exoskeleton exterior design that prevented the wind from blowing it over in strong storms. The light was cast by a Fourth Order Fresnel lens. The lamp was lit by a 24,000 candle power (the unit used to measure light) oil vapor lamp. In 1939, the lighthouse was updated and given electric light to replace the oil lamp, and a foghorn to replace the whistles used for signaling the ships.
The keepers of the St. Martin Island Lighthouse have played as huge a role in the history of the island, as the lighthouse itself. Originally, keepers maintained the lighthouse, and operated the lamps and signals. However, as lighthouse maintenance became increasingly more difficult, due to advancements in technology, lighthouse keepers were required to acquire the skills of a mechanic. From the year the lighthouse opened in 1904, until it was shut down in 1946, it was maintained by three separate keepers and 14 assistants.
Since St. Martin Island is now under private ownership, the lighthouse can best be viewed by boat. Two tours, The Door County Maritime Museum's annual lighthouse tour passes by the St. Martin Island Lighthouse, and Shoreline Charters, a private boat chartering and boat tour company offers a tour that passes St. Martin Island, and offers a view of the lighthouse. The land is now owned by a Native American Indian tribe, and no passage directly onto the island by tourists is allowed.
A lighthouse has two lights--a main light and a backup light. Although only the government deemed only two men were needed at the lighthouse in the winter, which was the off-season for ships to pass through, the first lighthouse keeper insisted at least three men were needed on hand.