WINDMILL POINT LIGHTHOUSE LAKE ONTARIO

Known to some as the - Alamo of the North - this rubble stone structure, converted into a lighthouse in 1872, was originally built as a wind powered grist mill in the 1830s. It is however best known for the part it played in a mostly forgotten event of American/Canadian history. In the mid to later 1830s Upper Canada was experiencing a rebellion against British rule. Americans know as - Patriot Hunters - along with Canadian rebels wished to form a Canadian republic. In 1838, a group of Hunters crossed over from New York in an attempt to capture Fort Wellington which was located near Prescott in current day Ontario. When the invasion attempt went wrong they took up a defensive position at the Windmill with the expectation that they would be reinforced by insurgent Canadians. Instead they found themselves pinned down in a hopeless battle with Loyalist forces. After a five day battle they surrendered and were taken to Fort Henry at Kingston where 11 of their leaders were executed.

HISTORIC GREAT LAKES USCG ICEBREAKER "MACKINAW"

The "Mackinaw" was built during World War II to ensure the shipment of iron ore to America’s steel mills.

When she arrived at her home port of Cheboygan, Michigan on December 30, 1944 she was the most powerful icebreaker in the world. The "Mighty Mac" is 74 feet wide, 290 feet long and displaces 5,252 tons.

The Toledo Shipbuilding Company of Toledo, Ohio was given the contract to build the Mackinaw but delays in completion caused such heavy penalties that the company went bankrupt.

After construction of a new "Mackinaw" (WLBB 30) by Manitowoc Marine, the historic "Mackinaw" (WAGB 83) was decommissioned on June 10, 2006 and now serves as the "Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum" at Mackinaw City, Michigan.

ROUND ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE

This light is a familiar sight to vacationers who visit Michigan's Mackinac Island during the summer months. She was built in 1895 to guide ships using the channel between Round and Mackinac Islands. The facility was vacated in 1947 when automated lights took over. Almost lost to rising lake waters in the 1970s she was rescued by concerned citizens and restored.

CHICAGO HARBOR LIGHTHOUSE

In 1891 a third order lens that was to be installed at the Point Loma, California Lighthouse was placed on display at the Colombian Exposition being held in Chicago. When the new Chicago Harbor Light was completed in 1893 it got the lens instead. The Chicago Harbor Light complex includes the brick-lined steel tower, a fog signal building, and a boathouse.

FRED A. BUSSE CHICAGO FIREBOAT

The Busse was named for the 32nd mayor of Chicago. Built in 1936 by the Defoe Shipbuilding Company of Bay City, Michigan, she is 92 feet in length with a beam width of 23 feet and depth of 8 feet. The Busse is depicted here as she would have looked in the early 1980s at rest along the Chicago River. Now retired from many years of hard work as an active fire boat, she now serves as a tour boat in Wisconsin's Door County.

MARBLEHEAD LIGHTHOUSE

Built in 1822, on Lake Erie's Marblehead Peninsula, she is the oldest continuous operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes. William Kelly was the contractor who built the 50 foot tall tower with a base 25 feet in diameter and walls 5 feet thick from native limestone. Benajah Wolcott, a Revolutionary War veteran, served as the first light keeper. Marblehead Lighthouse is owned and maintained by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Her beacon continues to be operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. 

GREAT LAKES TOWING TUG "OHIO"

The "Laurence C. Turner" was built in 1903 by the Ship Owners Dry Dock Company in Chicago to serve as a firetug for the city of Milwaukee. The Turner was retired in 1948. The Great Lakes Towing Company of Cleveland rebuilt her as a towing tug and renamed her "Ohio".