Rock Harbor Light Station: Pages from the Past

The Rock Harbor station, on Isle Royale in Lake Superior, was constructed in 1855 in support of two copper mines in the area. It was constructed for $5,000. Within four years the mines were depleted and abandoned. With the subsequent drop in shipping, the Lighthouse Board closed the light station. A second mining boom developed on Isle Royale in the 1870s. In 1874 the government refurbished and reopened the station, only to close it again, in 1879, when the copper boom fizzled.