SILVER BAY, Minn. — The state’s federal lawmakers have announced a $68,000 preservation grant for Split Rock Lighthouse — money that will help outline long-term management and preservation efforts of the iconic North Shore lighthouse.
The financial support from the National Park Service, in partnership with the Maritime Administration, U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken and Congressman Rick Nolan said. The grant was awarded to the Minnesota Historical Society, which operates Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, and will be used toward a $136,000 cultural landscape report.
The cultural landscape report will provide guidance on potential preservation activities and will serve as a tool for long-term management of the historic site.
“Preserving this monument is critical not only to our local economy, but also to future generations who will continue to marvel at its beauty and historical importance,” Nolan said in the news release.
Split Rock Lighthouse is on the North Shore of Lake Superior, southwest of Silver Bay. The lighthouse was built in 1910 by the United States Lighthouse Service as a response to the famous Mataafa Storm of 1905, in which 29 ships were damaged or destroyed on Lake Superior. It has been restored to replicate what it looked like in the 1920s, including the original tower, lens, fog-signal building, oil house and the three keepers’ houses. The U.S. Coast Guard retired the light in Split Rock Lighthouse in 1969.
