The Story of the Two Harbors Light Station

TWO HARBORS - A beacon in Agate Bay has been guiding ships for more than 100 years.

In this week's Northland Uncovered find out the story behind the Two Harbors Light Station.

A shining light in Agate Bay that now hosts couples at a Bed and Breakfast used to direct ships as they sailed into Two Harbors.

"The iron industry started in 1883 by 1888 they were shipping close to 4 million tons a year," said Mel Sando, President of the Lake County Historical Society.

The navigational guide received $10,000 from Congress and was built in 1892.

The light was first lit that April.

"The shoreline of course was, can be treacherous in heavy weather and in addition to that, because of the high iron content in the shoreline you had magnetic variation so compass headings weren't always true," said Sando.

Because of the iron-filled shoreline, there were a series of lights across the lake.

The light in Agate Bay could be seen for 17 miles, but they had a defense for the Northland fog.

"We call it a light station because it's not just a lighthouse. In addition to the light station, they built a fog signal as well," said Sando.

The fog horn was actually louder than the light could be seen.

"They were so loud that the people of Two Harbors actually complained and they ended up building a diaphonic horn around them to shield them," said Sando.

It was run by the United States Lighthouse Service, but two different families lived at the light station and manned it.

"You see the house here, you look at the light station, you see the main keepers residence, which at the time was actually very posh house you know it was a pretty nice place to live," said Sando.

The man worked eight hours on and 16 hours off to keep the light burning bright.

"Primarily, their duties were, in the early days because they were using a combination of whale oil and kerosene, were to clean the lenses and keep the lamps lit," explained Sando.

They kept the break wall light blazing no matter the weather.

"They would have to go out there by boat, no matter what the weather, or walk across the ice or whatever but they'd have to man that," said Sando.

Now, more than 100 years later, the lighthouse light continues to glow day after day.