Sources

Every fact on this site comes from a source you can check. This page lists them in one place, says which pages use each one, and notes where the sources disagree.

 

Government and lighthouse records

Annual Reports of the Lighthouse Board. The yearly federal reports on every U.S. light station, read here through the Lighthousefriends compilation. Used on: History, The Keepers, The Buildings, The Lost Lens.

 

U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, "Portage River Light." Used on: History, One Light, Several Names.

 

U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office, "Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light." The 1920 breakwater light people confuse with ours. Used on: One Light, Several Names.

 

National Register of Historic Places, Jacobsville Finnish Lutheran Church, ref. 76001028. Used on: Jacobsville.

 

Lighthouse histories

Lighthousefriends.com, "Portage River (Jacobsville) Lighthouse." The fullest published history of the station, citing the Lighthouse Board reports. Used on: History, One Light, Several Names, The Keepers, The Buildings, The Lost Lens.

 

History of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (Western Historical Company, Chicago, 1883). The Houghton County section is indexed online by Houghton County MIGenWeb. Used on: History, The Keepers (George Craig).

 

Archives and photographs

Michigan Tech Archives, Portage Entry Quarries Company Collection (MS-053). Business records of the quarries, with a history naming George Craig, the 1883 lease and Furst, Jacobs and Company. Used on: Jacobsville.

 

Michigan Tech, Keweenaw Geoheritage, "Jacobsville Quarries." Used on: Jacobsville.

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Copper Country Historical Images, Michigan Tech Archives. Records MS051-15-05-15 (newspaper photo, June 21, 1958), Nara 42-233 (loading derricks behind the tower) and MTU Neg 01090 ("Settlement at Furst, Jacobs & Co.'s Quarries"). Used on: Jacobsville.

 

Reference

Wikipedia, "Jacobsville Sandstone" and "John Henry Jacobs." Used on: Jacobsville.

 

Our own records

The owners' inspection of the tower, 2022 to today. The stone, the lime coating, the stair and the door stamps. Used on: The Buildings.

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"Guiding Lights: The Remarkable Fresnel Lenses" (Keeper's Log, November 4, 2023). Used on: The Lost Lens.

 

Where sources disagree

George Craig's years as keeper. Lighthousefriends gives 1878 to 1888, which our pages use. One lighthouse database lists 1879 to 1890.

 

When Craig found the stone. Lighthousefriends says 1861. Michigan Tech's finding aid says the late 1860s or early 1870s, and notes that reports differ.

 

When Jacobsville was founded. Sources give 1884 or 1885. We say the mid-1880s.

 

The Finnish Lutheran church. The National Register record gives 1886. The state marker says the building went up in 1888. We use 1888 for the building, with the congregation organized by 1886.

 

Have a record we don't?

Keepers' logs, letters, photographs, or the lens itself: if you hold anything about this light, we would love to hear from you. Contact us.

 

Last reviewed: November 2026