Plum Island Timeline

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1848:  Congress appropriates $3500 to build a lighthouse on the Porte des Morts passage.(1)
President James Polk reserves Plum Island from the public domain for lighthouse purposes.(2)

 

1849:  The first lighthouse and keeper’s dwelling are built on Plum Island and known as the Port du Mort Light Station.(3)

 

1858:  The light on Plum is determined to be too far west to aid shipping, the current Pilot Island Lighthouse is built. The 1849 Plum Island Lighthouse is abandoned.(4)

 

1890:  Due to increasing shipping traffic in the Port des Morts, and prompted by a number of wrecks in the passage, the Lighthouse Board requests a $21,000 congressional appropriation to establish a pair of range lights on Plum Island.(5)

 

1893:  Congress passes Act of February 15 authorizing requested funds to establish the range lights, but fails to make the necessary appropriation.(6)

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1895:  Congress appropriates the necessary funds on March 15th(7) and The United States Life Saving Service hires Marinette contractor C.J. Olson(8) to build a “Duluth style” life saving station on the north-eastern side of Plum Island.

 

1896:  Materials and workers are transported to the island in August. The land is clear-cut, and the range lights, steam siren fog signal, brick keeper’s dwelling, and other structures are built.  Work is completed and crew leaves on December 4th, 1896.(9)

 

1897:  The range lights are placed in operation on May 1.(10)

 

1898:  Twenty seven foot well drilled at north side of fog signal.(11)

 

1903:  Steam siren changed to 10” steam whistle, and submarine telephone cable laid from mainland to Plum Island and thence to Washington Island and thence to Pottowatamie Light on Rock Island.(12)

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1914: The schooner Resumption wrecks on Plum Island, almost directly off the front range light. It's eventually stripped and abandoned. Pieces of the keel can occasionally be seen in shallow water, amidst the shifting sand. (Resumption shipwreck profile)

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1915: The US Lifesaving Service and the US Revenue Cutter Service merge to form the US Coast Guard

 

1921:  Submarine telephone cable laid between Plum and Pilot islands.(14)

 

1929:  The original boat bays of the life saving station, made unusable by changing lake levels, larger boats, and additional equipment, are closed and converted into additional sleeping quarters and storage.  This requires rescue boats to be stored outdoors, exposed to the elements.(15)

 

1931:  The range lights are electrified, and steam whistles replaced by an electrically operated Tyfon air horn.(16)

 

1939:  The United States Lighthouse Service is absorbed by the USCG, which then assumes responsibility for all lighthouse and life-saving operations on Plum Island.(17)  The piers and boathouse near the range lights on the west side of the island are removed, and the pier and breakwater near the life saving station, are expanded.(18)

A new boathouse is built there to house rescue vessels.  This 46’ by 62’, one-and-one-half story, rectangular, wood-frame structure is clad in white-painted wood shingles applied in a coursed pattern.  The boathouse exhibits Colonial Revival design elements such as arched and multi-pane windows, corner pilasters, friezes, and detailed door surrounds.  The overall symmetry, balance, and proportions also reflect Colonial Revival style.  The boathouse is architecturally significant as an intact example of a “Roosevelt-type” boathouse designed by US Coast Guard engineers.  Of the approximately fifty that were originally built, only twenty-four survive.  Four of these are located on Lake Michigan.  Plum Island’s boathouse is the only example of the style in Wisconsin.(19)

 

1964:  The front range light’s wooden structure is replaced by a skeletal steel tower.(20)

 

1969:  The range lights are automated.(21)

 

1973:  Budget cuts lead the USCG to consider closing the Plum Island Life-Saving Station.  Local protest results in a compromise:  the Station will operate only during summer months and be staffed by reservists.(22)

 

1984:  The rear range light is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.(23)

 

1991:*  The location of the search and rescue facility is shifted to Washington Island.24  The last “Coastie” is transferred off of Plum and the buildings are boarded up and abandoned.(25)  The USCG continues to maintain the range lights as navigational aids.(26)

 

1999:  The US Coast Guard submits Notices of Intent to relinquish custody, accountability and control of Plum Island to the Bureau of Land Management.(27)

 

2000:  The Wisconsin Trust for Historic Preservation places the Plum Island Light Station on its list of the State's “Ten Most Endangered Historic Properties.”(28)
Plum Island is featured as one of the destinations during the Door County Lighthouse Festival.

 

2002:  The United States Fish and Wildlife Service successfully submits a petition/application for the transfer of Plum and Pilots Islands to protect migratory bird breeding/ stopover habitat and threatened and endangered species habitat to be managed as part of the Green Bay Islands National Wildlife Refuge.(29)

 

2006:  The USCG completes an $863,000 cleanup of lead paint and fuel contaminated soil from Plum Island, clearing the way for the island’s transfer to the USFWS.(30)

 

2007:  Spearheaded by Tim Sweet, the non-profit organization The Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands is chartered to work in partnership with USFWS to restore, preserve, and manage the island’s historic and cultural resources.  The USFWS team graciously welcomes the volunteer organization as together they create a long-term plan for the rehabilitation and future of the islands.(31)
The Public Land Order revoking two Executive Orders that reserved Plum and Pilot Islands for lighthouse purposes and transferring the islands to the USFWS is published in the Federal Register.(32)
The Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge is expanded to include Plum and Pilot islands.(33)

 

2008:  The ceremony to celebrate the jurisdiction transfer is attended by federal and state officials, volunteers, and members of the community.(34)
FOPPI receives a grant from The National Trust for Historic Preservation, Jeffris Family Endowed Preservation fund, to create a Building Stabilization Plan to restore and preserve existing historic structures on Plum and Pilot islands.  Phase Two of this plan is the lead paint abatement and repainting of the boathouse.(35)
USFWS purchases supplies to replace rotting portions of the pier deck.  Volunteers board up windows, clear brush from walkways and foundations, and remove accumulated trash.(36)

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