Turtle Island (Lake Erie)
 Turtle Island (Lake Erie) (Michigan)
Turtle Island (Lake Erie) (Ohio)
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Lake Erie |
| Coordinates | 41°45′09″N 83°23′28″W / 41.7525°N 83.39111°WCoordinates: 41°45′09″N 83°23′28″W / 41.7525°N 83.39111°W |
| Area | 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) |
| Country | |
| State | Michigan and Ohio |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited |
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| Lighthouse and keeper's residence c. 1880 | |
| Location | Turtle Island (Lake Erie) |
|---|---|
| Year first constructed | 1831 1866 (current tower) |
| Automated | No |
| Deactivated | 1904 |
| Construction | Brick |
| Tower shape | Square |
| Height | 44 ft (13 m) |
| Current lens | removed |
| Range | 14 mi (23 km) |
| ARLHS number | USA-859[1][2] |
Turtle Island is a remote 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) island in the western portion of Lake Erie in the United States. The island has unique political status, as its ownership is divided between the U.S. states of Michigan and Ohio, even though the island has no residents or use. The island is located about 5 mi (8.0 km) northeast of the mouth of the Maumee River in Maumee Bay. Today, the island houses several abandoned structures and the ruins of a lighthouse dating back to 1866.
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History
The Miami tribe were the first inhabitants of the small island prior to 1800. They used the island primarily to gather seagull eggs. The island was named after Miami chief Mishikinakwa (c. 1747–1812), who was an influential Indian leader in the Northwest Territory during the American Revolution.[3] Nicknamed Little Turtle, he later became popular among the American people after dissenting from his native tribe in the pursuit of peace negotiations with the Americans.[4][5]
The British operated a small fort on the island around 1794 in defense of the mouth of the Maumee River, but the fort was soon abandoned. There are conflicting accounts as to who maintained ownership of the island during this time. Local folklore alludes to the belief that the Indians owned the island and used it as a military fort, while others claim the British held control of it until losing it during the War of 1812. Official accounts of the history of Turtle Island date back to 1827, when the island itself was sold at a government auction in nearby Monroe, Michigan. Turtle Island was believed to not even be a true island on its own but rather a former extension of Little Cedar Point Peninsula.[5] The island was bought but sold back to the government four years later.[4]
Turtle Island Light
When the island fell back to government ownership, the newly established Port of Toledo received $5,000 of federal funding from Congress to build the Turtle Island Lighthouse in 1831.[5] At the time, the island's area was approximately 6.67 acres (2.7 ha), and the island included the lighthouse, the lighthouse keeper's residence, and a small farm.[4]
Unlike most islands in Lake Erie, Turtle Island consists primarily of clay and gravel deposits and was subjected to constant erosion, which is why some believed it to not be a real island. By 1839, lake storms and waves reduced the island by approximately 77% down to an area of only 1.5 acres (0.61 ha). The government spent tens-of-thousands of dollars to no avail to prevent the erosion of the island. In 1866, an updated lighthouse costing $12,000 was constructed. It was described as one of the finest lighthouses on the Great Lakes, and its light could be seen up to 14 mi (23 km) away.[5] However, the erosion of the island continued to threaten the lighthouse to the point where a 4 ft (1.2 m) tall concrete wall was constructed in 1883 around the lighthouse to prevent crashing waves and erosion from damaging the structure.[4] Constant lake storms bombarded the tiny island. When the nearby Toledo Harbor Light was completed in 1904, the Turtle Island Lighthouse was no longer needed and was decommissioned after having cost the government an untold amount of money to continuously maintain over the past 72 years. During those 72 years, there were no shipwrecks within the vicinity of Turtle Island.[5]
There were two keepers of the lighthouse: Ann Edson (1869–1870) and William Haynes (1875–1904).[6]
Early 1900s
With the completion of the Toledo Harbor Light in 1904, the shallower shipping lane around Turtle Island was rerouted to deeper waters, and the lighthouse on Turtle Island was abandoned.[3] Turtle Island Light was officially decommissioned on May 15, 1904. The government removed the components of the lighthouse but left all the structures in place. The island was sold at an auction to A. H. Merrill for $1,650 in December 1904. The island went unused and was subsequently vandalized over the next 30 years. Most of the original structures were completely stripped of their elements. In the late-1920s, the Toledo Blade reported on the status of the island by saying, “Vandals have wrecked the house, stealing everything that could be salvaged from the structure except the grim, bare walls which stand as a monument to the service this light rendered for nearly half a century.”[5]
In 1933, A. H. Merrill transferred ownership of the island to George Merrill. He signed a lease with the Associated Yacht Club of Toledo (AYC) for them to build a series of docks and use the island for recreational purposes. However, the AYC ran out of money during the Great Depression and was forced to abandon their plans for rejuvenating Turtle Island. The AYC attempted to work with the state of Ohio to receive funding to revamp the island, but the state determined the cost of restoring the island would exceed its beneficial use by the public since the island was too small and remote. The AYC abandoned the island in 1937, and the island continued to decay with no improvements.[4] The lighthouse keeper's headquarters were demolished, and the island suffered further damage from strong winds and waves during the 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak.[6]
Border dispute
The small strip of land surrounding the mouth of the Maumee River was under the jurisdiction of the Michigan Territory, because the borders originally drawn up for the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 set a territorial boundary as a straight line from the southernmost edge of Lake Michigan. When Ohio became the first in the Northwest Territory to gain statehood in 1803, the state’s northern border did not include this important area, which was later given to the Michigan Territory when it was formally organized in 1805. Turtle Island fell under the jurisdiction of the Michigan Territory, and when the first Turtle Island Light was constructed in 1831, it was within the boundaries of the territory. When Toledo was founded in 1833, it was part of the Michigan Territory, and the Port of Toledo operated the lighthouse. Because Ohio disputed Michigan's ownership over this area, it led to the heated Toledo War border dispute between the Michigan Territory and the state of Ohio for the area known as the Toledo Strip. In late-1836, President Andrew Jackson intervened on behalf of Ohio and gave the Toledo Strip to Ohio in exchange for Michigan getting the Upper Peninsula when it became a state soon after on January 26, 1837.
The Toledo Strip and the city of Toledo became part of Ohio, but Turtle Island remained part of the Michigan Territory. The lighthouse was still operated by the Port of Toledo, but the island was still claimed and charted as Michigan territory within Monroe County. Control of the island was not disputed by either state, and the political status of the island was forgotten after the lighthouse was decommissioned in 1904. The state boundary of Ohio and Michigan remained unchanged from 1837–1973 when the status of Turtle Island was finally recognized and resolved long after tensions over the Toledo War had ended. The Supreme Court intervened, and on February 22, 1973, an agreement was met between the two states. The state lines were redrawn for the last time to cut exactly through the tiny island, while the ruins of the lighthouse itself were included in the Ohio half.[4] The island was divided between Monroe County and Ohio's Lucas County. This was merely an act of politics, as the island had been abandoned and continually decaying for the past 70 years. The Michigan half fell under the jurisdiction of Erie Township, while the city of Toledo assumed full control over the other half.
Current status
The island remains privately owned, and Turtle Island only has remnants of structures still standing.[5] In February 2002, the owner of the island attempted to build three new buildings on the island with the reported intent of using them for summer vacation rentals. Authorities in Monroe County issued a decree to stop the construction, because the owner failed to get the building permits to build on the Michigan side of the island.[7] The decree was ignored, but the structures were never completely finished before they were mostly destroyed by large ice packs during the winter of 2009.[4][8] Erie Township, which has jurisdiction over the Michigan half of Turtle Island, has planned to remove the now-destroyed structures from the island and clean up remaining debris. This action has not taken place yet, because the cost of doing so would be too expensive. The township has continually debated on what to do with the island.[9]
The only thing that remains of the 1866 Turtle Island Light is the tower, although the top of the tower was blown off during a tornado on Palm Sunday in 1965, exposing the iron spikes that once held in the place the lantern. Continued efforts at restoring the lighthouse have been unsuccessful. Portions of the concrete wall constructed to originally protect the lighthouse have also eroded away, further exposing the island. Lighthouse Digest lists the decaying Turtle Island Light as critically endangered on its Doomsday List of threatened lighthouses.[10][11] Even though the island is remote, it is currently closed to the public, although it is impossible for this to be enforced.
References
- ^ Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society (2010). "Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, Turtle Island (Lake Erie) Light, ARLHS USA-859". http://wlol.arlhs.com/lighthouse/USA859.html. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
- ^ Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society (2010). "Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, World List of Lights (WLOL)". http://wlol.arlhs.com/index.php?mode=alpha&letter=T. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
- ^ a b Ohio City Productions, Inc. (2010). "Turtle Island Lighthouse". http://www.touring-ohio.com/northwest/toledo/turtle-island-lighthouse.html. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g Archinger, Warren (2004). "Ohio Lighthouses - Turtle Island Light, Maumee Bay - Lake Erie". http://www.captain-johns.com/Ohio/Turtle.html. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g Anderson, Kraig (2010). "Turtle Island, Ohio". http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=271. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
- ^ a b Lighthouse Depot (2010). "Turtle Island Light". http://www.lighthousedepot.com/lite_explorer.asp?action=display_details&LighthouseID=286. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Ohio". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/oh.htm. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
- ^ Lighthouse.Boatnerd.com (2010). "Turtle Island Light". http://lighthouse.boatnerd.com/gallery/erie/TurtleIsland.htm. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
- ^ Mark, Reiter (May 29, 2008). "Erie Township seeks bids to remove buildings". The Blade (Toledo, Ohio). http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080529/NEIGHBORS04/805280362. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
- ^ Lighthouse Depot (2010). "The Doomsday List". http://www.lighthousedepot.com/lite_explorer.asp?action=search_lighthouses&doomsday=Y&bhcd2=1260542280. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "The Doomsday List". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/doomsday.html. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
Further reading
- Gardner, B. Ellen. Turtle Island Lighthouse: The Darkened Light. Cornwall, New York: Hawk's Cry Publications, 1997. ISBN 0964967928
- Oleszewski, Wes. Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses. Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998. ISBN 0932212980.
- Turtle Island Light Station, The Keepers' Log, Notice to Keepers Volume 10, Issue 4, Page 40.
- U.S. Coast Guard. Historically Famous Lighthouses. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1957.
- Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia. Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia. Erin, Ontario: Boston Mills Press, 2006. ISBN 1550463993
External links
- Turtle Island Lighthouse at Lighthouse Friends
- Lighthouse Depot: Turtle Island.
- Turtle Island Lighthouse - Turtle Island history
- Western Lake Erie Historical Society historical photograph at boatnerd.com
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