The Buildings

The Portage River Lighthouse is a 51-foot tower of Jacobsville sandstone blocks with a lime coating, joined by a short passage to a two-story brick keeper's house. Both date to 1869 to 1870, when they replaced the first station of 1856. A seawall and an oil house followed in 1907.

 

The first station, 1855 to 1856

The first tower was a round tower of rubblestone, eight feet across and thirty-nine feet tall, with an eight-sided cast-iron lantern on top. The keeper's house beside it was rubblestone too. Neither lasted. In 1868 an inspector found the tower walls damp inside and the lantern room only four feet across, barely room for a keeper to tend the lens.

 

The tower, 1869 to 1870

Congress provided $12,000 for a new station on March 3, 1869.

• Stone: blocks of Jacobsville sandstone, the red stone quarried along this shore, finished with a white lime coating. That coating is why the tower reads white from the water.

• Size: 51 feet tall, 14 feet across at the base, narrowing to 12 feet at the top.

• Stair: a cast-iron spiral of 61 steps.

• Lantern: ten-sided and cast iron. It held the fifth-order Fresnel lens moved over from the first tower.

• Door: an iron door in the tower still carries its maker's stamp, Detroit Locomotive Works, and the year 1869.

 

The keeper's house

A two-story house of red brick, with eight rooms plus a kitchen, built at the same time as the tower. After the 1958 auction the house was enlarged and became a family home. The white addition holds the main entry, a guest bath, the great room, the kitchen and the back porch. We are bringing back historically accurate six-pane double-hung windows, and salvaging matching brick wherever we can.

 

The passage

A short enclosed passage joins the tower to the house, so a keeper never had to cross the yard in a Lake Superior winter to reach the light. "1869" is cut in the stone above its entrance.

 

The oil house and seawall, 1907

In 1907 the station got a separate oil house for storing lamp fuel, and a seawall along the shore. The oil house still stands.

 

The carriage shed

The white two-story clapboard building by the drive is the carriage shed. Today it is our garage.

 

Frequently asked questions

What is the tower made of?

Jacobsville sandstone blocks with a lime coating.

 

How tall is it?

51 feet.

 

How many steps to the top?

61, on a cast-iron spiral stair.

 

Can I climb it?

Not at present. The tower is part of a private home and is closed except on scheduled open house days. None are scheduled for 2026 or 2027. See Visit the Lighthouse for viewing and parking.

 

Why is the tower white if the stone is red?

The lime coating. Under it is red Jacobsville sandstone.

 

Sources

• Lighthousefriends.com, "Portage River (Jacobsville) Lighthouse," citing the Annual Reports of the Lighthouse Board.

• The owners' own inspection of the tower, 2022 to 2026.

 

Last reviewed: November 2026