Since 1882, Stannard Rock Lighthouse has helped mariners navigate the stormy waters of Lake Superior.
Now the tower called “the most remote lighthouse in North America” is poised to help navigate the future storm of changing climate conditions. But first, it needs an expensive dose of TLC to rejuvenate its interior spaces.
Stannard Rock’s location about 25 miles east of Keweenaw Point and 42 miles north of Marquette, puts it into a perfect position for collecting data about weather, water and air quality. The Superior Watershed Partnership (SWP) took over stewardship of the lighthouse in 2015. It is one of dozens of historic lighthouse towers and stations being decommissioned and taken off the federal government’s responsibility for upkeep. Some have gone to well-pocketed private owners, but many have been turned over to well-intentioned non-profit organizations, some created specifically for their care.
Soon after taking responsibility for Stannard Rock, the SWP had an innovative use for its lighthouse. It set up agreements with NOAA in the United States and with Environment Canada allowing access to the site for expanded climate research. Such research parallels the mission of SWP and the information being gathered has proven useful.
“The SWP has developed a climate adaptation plan for Lake Superior coastal communities using NOAA data, including data from Stannard Rock,” notes Carl Lindquist, SWP executive director. “With climate data and climate plans we have prioritized and successfully pursued funding for critical climate adaptation projects for coastal communities. These projects include everything from urban tree planting, to rain gardens to the $8 million coastal resiliency project in Marquette. These projects make the connection from lighthouse climate research to climate planning to on-the-ground projects that have benefited numerous Upper Peninsula coastal communities - the real work!”
In the next phase for the lighthouse, SWP wants to renovate the interior of the tower, making it habitable for researchers to stay on site while collecting data and pursuing study projects.
Stannard Rock Lighthouse has not been ready for “residents” since an explosion in 1961, when more than 1,000 gallons of gasoline stored in the engine house ignited. There were four U.S. Coast Guardsmen staying at the light at the time; one died and the others were injured. The resulting fire was so intense that part of the limestone near the engine house melted. The next year, the light was automated and the Fresnel lens removed and replaced. (After a period of “gone missing,” the Fresnel was found and given to the Marquette Maritime Museum for display.)
It’s not that the lighthouse hasn’t had any care. The SWP’s newly renamed Great Lakes Climate Corps (formerly the Great Lakes Conservation Corps) each year spends time cleaning and doing minor repairs at the light. But the new plans are much more ambitious.
Tony Arens is senior project manager of a plan to invest $2 million in renovation for the nearly 140-year-old lighthouse.
“We’re trying to figure out how we can raise funds to make the lighthouse habitable again, so people can live out there … cook, use a bathroom, sleep and work,” says Tony.
What organizers of the fundraising have discovered, as have so many “new” lighthouse stewards, while everybody loves historic old buildings, very few grants and resources are available to maintain and restore them. “Everyone loves history,” Tony says, but raising money strictly for a historical preservation project is tough.
Still, the project has approached several corporations, including Great Lakes maritime companies. Simultaneously funds also are being raised to make a short documentary about Stannard Rock, being done by Muse Storytelling as a fundraising aid. With that and its other plans, SWP hopes to create a template for others.
“The United States has over 700 lighthouses, with 200 plus on the Great Lakes and over 70 on Lake Superior,” says Carl. “We have learned that since the U.S. government started the program to give away abandoned lighthouses that many communities and non-profit organizations have had trouble finding grants to maintain them. That is one reason we are launching this comprehensive campaign. But more importantly … we are also developing a short video tutorial that provides a step-by-step boilerplate that can be tailored and replicated for other lighthouse organizations to tell their story and develop a successful campaign. SWP will provide this for free when completed.”
The work, points out Tony, will not end with one fundraising effort.
“Once you restore the lighthouse, you’re not done,” he notes. “It’s forever getting lambasted by the weather.”
And that, of course, is what makes this old lighthouse a new tool in navigating the Earth’s future.
How to Help
Every dollar – and volunteer – helps in restoring Stannard Rock Lighthouse. “We are focused on raising funding to improve conditions at the lighthouse so researchers could comfortably stay overnight if desired,” says Carl Lindquist, SWP executive director. The interior, as one sees here, needs work. The drawing shows the concept for the renewed “research station.” While a grant has been received to have a consulting firm develop a comprehensive restoration plan, funds to implement it will come from elsewhere, including donations.
Find out how to help at www.stannardrock.org.