Bailey's Harbor Front & Rear Range Wisconsin
Harbour Lights #674

Throughout the Midwest, Door County, Wisconsin is known for its lush forests, magnificent waterways, and most of all its legendary lighthouses. Each year, the Door County Maritime Museum holds a Lighthouse Walk that attracts thousands of visitors all over the United States.

In honor of the region’s timeless lighthouse legacy, Harbour Lights created this beautiful set of Bailey’s Harbor Range Lights – beacons for Lake Michigan mariners seeking a safe haven north of Milwaukee. In the mid-1800s, Bailey’s Harbor was the closest refuge for sailors traveling northward.

When the range lights were completed in 1869, it was to replace the old Bailey’s Harbour Lighthouse that was erected in 1861 but it was deemed unsatisfactory. Constructed closer to the dangerous entrance to the harbor and set about 900-feet apart, the two lights offered seamen approaching Bailey’s Harbor a greater degree of safety.

The Rear Range light was constructed first. The combination keeper’s dwelling and beacon has seven rooms in the one-and-a-half story structure. Since range lights are designed to be viewed from a relatively narrow field of vision, there is no lantern room. Instead, a window was installed on the tower side facing the lake, and a fixed white Fifth Order Fresnel Lens beamed directly onto Lake Michigan.

The Front Range focal plane was 17-feet shorter than the rear, and was outfitted with a fixed red beam from its Fifth Order Lens. Mariners approaching could get their bearings with the white light at the rear beaming higher than the front red light. The two lights were also placed in such a way that the keeper could observe the front beacon from the comfort of his quarters and not have to make unnecessary trips. In 1897 the Front Range optic was replaced with a locomotive headlight enhanced with a parabolic mirror for a stronger beam.
In 1930 both lights were electrified. That same year Immanuel Lutheran Church was given permission to use the empty keeper’s dwelling as a parsonage. Land use was turned over to Door County in 1934, and the county organized the Ridges Sanctuary. In 1956 the church gave up use of the dwelling and it stood empty until 1965, when the Coast Guard leased it to The Ridges.

Although these lights were finally extinguished in 1969, it still remains a vital role in maritime history. The legacy of this lighthouse lives on each year and is an integral part of the annual Door County Lighthouse Walk, celebrating the regions historic landmarks. Harbour Lights has reproduced the Range Lights for this special occasion. The miniatures fit neatly together, as a pair, just as the real lights do, today.