Work began on Sand Island on June 6, 1881 with the arrival of the lighthouse tender AMARANTH to deliver a work crew and materials on the island. After constructing temporary living quarters for the crew, timber cribs 80 feet in length and 8 feet in width were sunk in the lake to create both a landing and protected harbor for the station boat and some 8 acres of thick woods were cleared for the buildings, and to afford a clear arc of visibility for the new light. The rough stone was quarried, and work began on dressing the stone to working dimensions on June 27. With the delivery of the stone to the work site soon thereafter, the work crew turned its attention to the lighthouse itself. Read more about Sand Island at "Seeing the Light": terrypepper.com/lights/superior/sand/index.htm
Guarding the canal between Lake Superior and Lac Labelle, the Mendota light is inaccessible except for views from the opposite side of the canal. The light is unlike any other on the Great Lakes, in that it's integrated tower sits in the center of a deeply sloped roof. This lighthouse, owned and well maintained by Gary Kohs, is on of the most picturesque lights on the Lake. ESTABLISHED-- 1870 BUILT-- 1895 LIGHT-- FOURTH ORDER FRESNEL LENS (FIXED) WHITE FLASH EVERY TWENTY SECONDS HEIGHT-- 44 FEET DISTANCE VISIBLE-- 13¾ MILES DECOMISSIONED- - 1960 REACTIVATED -- JULY 5, 1998 AT 9:45 PM
