Breakwater Lighthouse
Construction of breakwaters to create "a harbor of refuge" at Milwaukee was started in 1881, and completed in 1930. Gaps between sections of breakwater allowed smaller craft in and out of the harbor, without having to navigate through the main entrance. As construction of various sections progressed, lights were established to mark the ends of the breakwaters.
One such light was a “pagoda-style” beacon, with sloping sides of sheet metal, topped by a dome and a small deck. Similar lights were built at Sheboygan, Racine, Kenosha, Waukegan, and Petoskey, Michigan. All were removed long ago, but images live on in old postcards. The existing Breakwater Lighthouse was built in 1926 to mark the main entrance to the harbor. It was one of the last lighthouses built on the Great Lakes. Accessible only by boat, the Breakwater Lighthouse was staffed by a crew of four, who lived at the lighthouse three days on and three days off. Two men were always on duty. The basement of the structure contained a fog signal, a heating plant and storage; the first floor a boat room, kitchen and dining room; the second floor four bedrooms and a bathroom. “When we changed crews, we launched the boat with one man aboard, and the other running the hoist from the main deck,” recalled keeper Jack Eckert. “The boat would be lifted from the cradle with the crane, and swung out. The man going on liberty would get into the boat while it was alongside. As the boat was lowered, he would start the engine, and as soon as the boat was in the water, he would step out of the cabin to unhook the ring from the heavy hook. The man topside would get the hook out of the way as fast as possible, and the man in the boat would back out quickly. It was a miracle that nobody lost fingers or was bashed by the hook. I have stood off the light for as long as two hours, waiting for the seas to subside enough to make a run for the corner. Scary! “To sleep when the foghorn was sounding was difficult. Every third minute the normal rhythm of the horn was broken by a period of silence, and about the time you dozed off, the third minute arrived. I often just got up and went down to watch TV. After a few days of sounding, it was easy to get soupy.” |