This northern passage was convenient for vessels traveling between the Straits of Mackinac and Green Bay, but as Milwaukee and Chicago grew in importance, traffic from these ports preferred taking the more southerly Death�s Door Passage to Green Bay, as it saved significant time. This volunteer group, operating under a lease from the Coast Guard, maintained the lighthouse and occasionally opened it … Fish and Wildlife Service to support the preservation, restoration, maintenance, and contemporary use of the historic resources on Plum and Pilot Islands, and to conserve and protect wildlife resources, while providing opportunities for quality wildlife-dependent recreation. The Friends of Plum and Pilot Island website. The equipment was moved to the newly built, Pilot Island lighthouse. The grounds are available for wedding ceremonies; call Linda Collins at 978-290-1413 or email. The Friends of Plum Island Light may also offer periodic public tours inside the Newburyport Range lighthouses. A brick fog signal building was built roughly 1,300 feet northwest of the rear tower, and a dock that extended 210 feet into the lake was built nearby and fitted with pipe to provide water for the duplicate steam-powered fog signals. His first assistant was Hans J. Hanson, who was formerly the second assistant at Pilot Island, and Knudsen was told to hire a laborer of his choice as second assistant. The Coast Guard abandoned the life saving station in 1991, moving its operations to Washington Island. Potato Head. The circular watch room has a diameter of eight feet, and the tower measures sixty-five feet from its base to the top of the lantern room�s ventilator ball. Two years later the radiobeacon was increased to a class �C� beacon. Plum Island Light is located on the western end of Plum Island, which lies east of Orient Point which in turn is at the end of the North Fork of Long Island in the US state of New York.An historic granite lighthouse originally built in 1869 sits at the site, but no longer serves as an active aid to navigation. The grounds are open year round. Friends of Plum & Pilot Islands is a 501(c) 3 Corporation registered in the State of Wisconsin. 2.8K likes. The extremely popular plates have sold over 7000 sets since they were released in July 2010. Plum Island Rear Range Lighthouse can be seen from the, Ferry traveling between Northport and Plum Island. After these preparatory measures, work commenced on the front tower, rear tower, keeper�s dwelling, fog signal building, boathouse, and oil house. Soon Friends of Plum Island was formed as a committee of the Illinois Audubon Society. The license plate is a fundraising tool for Friends of Plum Beach Lighthouse, which acquired the 1897 lighthouse 22 years ago with the goal of preserving it. The grounds are open to the public. Head: William Riggins (1849 � 1857), William Shurtleff (1857 � 1858), Martin N. Knudsen (1897 � 1899), Hans J. Hanson (1899 � 1905), Charles E. Young (1905 � 1907), Joseph Boshka (1907 � 1911), Charles Boshka (1911 � 1925), Robert G. Young (1925 � 1927), Oscar Johnson (1927 � 1929), William Renier (1929 � 1937) , William C. Kincaide (1937 � at least 1941). Plum Island Lighthouse stands on three-acres at the west end of Plum Island, which were purchased from Richard Jerome for $90 in 1826, and marks the east side of Plum Gut, a mile-wide entrance to Long Island Sound with extremely strong tidal currents. Bogard’s grandfather was one of the founders of the Friends of Plum Island Light and helped preserve and maintain the lighthouse after the Coast Guard transferred it to control by the city in 2003. 2005: Rita Renwick, in recognition of her many years of service as an IAS board member, officer and volunteer, and for outstanding leadership in saving Copley Park for the herons of Lake Renwick, working to establish Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, and a member of the Friends of Plum Island. The fog signal did not have to be used until May 9, 1897, when its distinct signal of a three-second blast followed by seventeen seconds of silence first boomed out over Death�s Door. During August, a landing dock was built on the shore near the site of the rear tower, and a 367-foot-long tramway was run between the dock and the dwelling site. Friends of the 1904 fog signal replaced the old steam fog signal building during this period Plum Island 1975 leaving! 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