Refer to page 43 of Lighthouses Short & Tall: Split Rock

This primary source speaks of the ‘ore trade." Page 21 (Spectacle Reef) also speaks of commercial vessels on Lake Huron. Can you find the Mesabi Range on a state map, from which the iron ore came?

Do you know how a derrick works? Have you seen cranes operate, building tall structures in cities? A derrick works on much the same principle, hoisting building materials up a sheer cliff.

This is an important coast station on the Great Lakes, with a number of substantial buildings for its equipment and keepers. The Minnesota Historical Society has made it a major tourist attraction by keeping it in pristine condition and having costumed interpreters in all the buildings (see link to their website below).

Have you ever seen a flashing light? Flashes were created by rotating the bullseye segments of the lens. The lens floated in a layer of mercury or revolved on chariot wheels. The lens was rotated by a clockwork mechanism that the keeper wound up by hand every three or four or five hours, depending on lens size and length of flash.