Many of the early lighthouses in the region had several common buildings, including the keeper’s house, the lantern room either in a separate tower or part of the keeper’s house, oil storage building and the privy. This view of the Cana Island Lighthouse has all four. The tower and keeper’s dwelling was built in 1869.

The two hole outhouse was built in 1906 but because of the solid rock only a couple feet below the surface, buckets were used instead of a deep hole. The six-sided oil house was constructed with local stones in 1890 which stored mineral oil and kerosene. In 1934, the light was converted from fuel to an electric bulb.

Cana Island Buildings

The Cana Island Lighthouse is probably the most famous of the Door County lighthouses which sits on a 9 acre island with a 89 foot tall tower. The third order Fresnel lens was first lit on January 28, 1870 in the cream city brick tower. Storms and icy winters deteriorated the bricks so in 1902, a steel cladding was added to protect the tower. This weekend, the tower is open for visitors to climbs and enjoy the view from the cat walk. The light was automated in 1945.

A three hundred foot long natural causeway links the mainland to Cana Island, but the fluctuating level of Lake Michigan can cause it to be flooded, like it is right now. The highest point on the island is less than seven feet above the average lake level so flooding was a problem so an added breakwater running parallel to the shore helped to stop the waves flooding the keeper’s dwelling.

Cana Island Lighthouse