Timeline

1905
Late November gale damaged 29 ships on Lake Superior.

1910
Split Rock light station commissioned.

1910-1928
Orren "Pete" Young served as head keeper at Split Rock.

1915-1916
Elevated tramway built to replace original hoisting engine and derrick at Split Rock.

1924
Lake Superior International Highway completed past Split Rock. First tourists visited site by car.

1928-1944
Franklin J. Covell served as head keeper at Split Rock.

1932
Split Rock fog signal gas engines replaced by diesels.

1934
Tramway dismantled at Split Rock. Station received a truck to haul supplies. Second assistant designated laborer and truck driver.

1936
Split Rock fog signal siren converted to a diaphone (two-tone, rather than single tone sound).

1939
Lighthouse Service absorbed by the U.S. Coast Guard.

1940
Split Rock station electrified. Incandescent oil vapor lamp replaced by Fresnel lens rotated by electric motor. Fog signal operated by electric motor. Well dug at Split Rock to improve station water supply.

1942
U.S. Coast Guard taken over by U.S. Navy during World War II. Lightkeepers became "commanding officers."

1947-1961
Robert E. Bennetts served as last civilian keeper at Split Rock.

1961
Fog signal discontinued at Split Rock (light continued).

1969
Split Rock station decommissioned. Site is placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

1971
Site became part of Split Rock Lighthouse State Park.

1975
On November 10, the Edmund Fitzgerald and her 29 crew members were lost on Lake Superior.

1976
Minnesota Historical Society began to administer the Split Rock station site.

1980
Historic site area expanded from 7.6 acres to current 25-acre size. Restoration of the head keeper’s dwelling.

1986
Visitor center opened.

2011
Split Rock Lighthouse receives National Historic Landmark designation.