The lighthouses are generally located at the edge of the group of islands, as beacons to guide shipping through and around the islands. The need for guidance increased in 1855 when the
Soo Locks opened, connecting Lake Superior to the
St. Lawrence Seaway to the east. Shipping also increased as
Duluth-
Superior grew, and with the opening of
Ashland's first
ore dock in 1886.[3]
The Apostle Islands lighthouses are popular among tourists. Lighthouse historian Terry Pepper has described them as "one of the more interesting geographically centered collection of [lighthouse] structures" in the United States.[4] Another lighthouse historian,
F. Ross Holland, has called them "the largest and finest single collection of lighthouses in the country."[2]
The following lighthouses were included in the 1977 National Register listing:[3]
Havighurst, Walter (1943) The Long Ships Passing: The Story of the Great Lakes,
Macmillan Publishers.
Oleszewski, Wes, Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998)
ISBN0-932212-98-0.
Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006)
ISBN978-1-55046-399-6.