Historic Preservation
& Restoration
THE BUILDINGS
Plum Island
1st Lighthouse Ruins (1849 - 1858)
Rear Range Tower (1896)
Front Range Tower (1964)
Light Keepers Quarters (1896)
Fog Signal Building (1896)
Lifesaving Station Crew's Quarters (1896)
Lifesaving Station Boathouse (1939)
Pilot Island Lighthouse (1858)
Pilot Island Lighthouse Fog Signal Building Ruins (1904)
2023
This year we focused on raising the funds for the Rear Range Light restoration and strategic planning for the next series of projects listed on our five-year matrix, which include:
• Boathouse Garage Door Replacements – the lower sections were blown out in a winter storm several years ago. We have the sections fabricated and now need to locate an artisan who is familiar with the hardware used in 1939 to support these doors.
• Boathouse Roof Restoration – the shingles are cedar shake and must be replaced ‘like for like’ (or as close as possible) to meet SHPO’s requirements.
• Crews Quarters Front and Rear Porch restoration
• Keepers House brick and mortar repair
• Lead Paint Abatement of multiple buildings, both interior and exterior
• Interpretive signage
• Complete painting crews’ quarters front porch lattice
• Bat condominium
• Pilot Island Keepers House Light Tower restoration
• Pilot Island debris cleanup
• Pilot Island roof replacement
• Pilot Island brick repair
2022
Plum Island Boathouse
Pilaster Restoration
The (1939) boathouse was last painted in 2012 when lead paint was abated (scraped off before repainting). Unsure of exactly how the old job had been done, the restoration team treated this project as if there was lead encapsulated in the paint.
To correctly execute according to environmental standards, a plastic shroud was built around each area to catch paint chips scraped off. The Team, working within the enclosure, wore Tyvek suits with hoods, masks and eye protection. Paint chips were vacuumed up and removed from the island for proper disposal.
Three of the four pilasters were able to be restored, while the fourth one needed to be replaced. Cornell Construction Company of Washington Island milled the piece to perfection and the pilasters are set to weather another 83 years!
Pilot Island Lighthouse
Lantern Deck Rubber Membrane
When contractor Chad Moore, Moore Quality Exteriors of Sheboygan worked on the Pilot Island gutters and downspouts (2021) he noted that the base that the lantern sits on was needing repair. Chad and his team installed a new rubber membrane onto the deck of the lantern to prevent further damage to the structure.
The Historic Preservation & Restoration team completed an inspection in the Spring of 2023 to further assess the damage and plan for restoration.
2021
We came back strong in 2021 with a TON of projects completed across both islands!
Lifesaving Station Crew's Quarters
Historic Windows & Exterior Restoration
The scope for this project continued to change through the COVID years. In 2021 a group of
volunteers gathered in one of the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge’s outbuildings to paint the 43
windows.
Carlson Erickson Builders of Sister Bay was awarded the contract to install the windows in the old boat bay, replacing (or restoring) the doors, rebuilding a period replica of the boat bay door, rebuilding the back porch steps, replacing the picture window with a period specific set of windows, installing windows in the boat bay, and uncovering windows openings that were covered in an earlier remodel. Funding for this project came from a $50,000 grant awarded to us by a local philanthropic organization that wished their name to remain anonymous.
Range Light Restoration
• The contract for this work was awarded to Mihm Enterprises of Hamilton, Michigan, a renowned Great Lakes lighthouse restoration firm.
• Grants provided us the needed funding to:
o Perform lead paint abatement and painting of the Front Range and Rear Lights
o Restoration of the Lantern Room on the Rear Range Light
o Restoration of the Watch Deck/Watch Room level (interior and exterior painting)
• Total Cost: $215,614.85
• Funding: Grants from the David L. and Rita E. Nelson Family Fund, a donor advised fund within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, the Door County Community Foundation and the FOPPI General Fund
Plum Island Fog Signal Building Roof
The contract was awarded to Chewy and Teo Roofing and Siding of Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin. Chewy and Teo have worked with us to re-roof the Lighthouse Keepers Dwelling and have done considerable maintenance work on this building and the Crews’ Quarters shingles to account for the adverse weather conditions on the island.
• Total Cost: 7,184.00
• Funding: The Raibrook Foundation and FOPPI General Fund
Pilot Island Lighthouse
Summer Kitchen Roof + Gutters & Downspouts
Both contracts awarded to Moore Quality Exteriors of Sheboygan, WI. This company worked with us in 2019 on the Plum Island Crews’ Quarters gutters.
A beautiful, red, metal roof was installed, and installation of the gutters and downspouts will redirect the water running from the roof and prevent future spalling of the Cream City brick.
Roof restoration cost: $17,389
Gutters & Downspouts: $7,092
Funding Source: FOPPI general fund
2019
Dock Repair
High water and heavy ice caused considerable damage to the historic dock on Plum Island.
Before a busy season could even begin, the damage had to be repaired.
Lifesaving Station Lead Paint Abatement & New Paint
After the US Fish & Wildlife Service awarded FOPPI a $100,000 grant for lead paint abatement of the Lifesaving Station Crew's Quarters in 2018, a contractor was selected and work was performed during the summer of 2019. Lead paint was remediated according to environmental standards and a gorgeous new coat of paint was applied.
2018
Light Keepers' Quarters
Historic Restoration and Preservation team leader, Paul Schumacher worked with area contractors and volunteers to restore the historic gutters on this building, replace a considerable portion of the trim, repair roof shingles and tuckpoint the chimneys.
Lifesaving Station Crew's Quarters
North wall of Crew's Quarters was found to be in very poor condition with badly deteriorated wood. This was the location of the original boat room when the station was first built. It was later converted to living space for the crew.
Contractors were hired to complete this work. See the gallery below!
Friends of Plum and Pilot Island works under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) Friends Policy (633 FW 1), and within the 2022 Friends Partnership Agreement with the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
For the purposes of historic preservation, our partnership is maintained to meet National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requirements, and with its implementing of regulation 36 CFR Part 800. All work that we conduct in partnership with the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge follows The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and The Secretary of the Interior Professional Qualifications Standards.
Plans for treatments on all structures on the National Register of Historic Places found at Plum and Pilot islands are, at minimum, preservative in nature as defined in the Standards. This will avoid any “Adverse Effect” determinations while consulting with Wisconsin's State Historic Preservation Office and the USFWS.
For information regarding plans and strategies for historic preservation at the refuge, please contact GreenBayRefuge@fws.gov.