The Marquette lighthouse, taken from the point, circa 1895. (Photo courtesy of the Marquette Regional History Center)

MARQUETTE — Described as “hardy and sociable,” Capt. Patrick H. “Bill” McGuire, Marquette lighthouse keeper, was a favorite of The Mining Journal in his day. In July 1885 a reporter was charmed by what he found on Lighthouse Point:

“It may be remarked in the first place that from cellar to garret it was as scrupulously clean as any parlor in the city. Mrs. (Catherine) McGuire, who holds the appointment of assistant keeper, has exhibited her excellent taste in every room, in the adornment of the walls, arrangement of pictures, and works of home art. Everything which can make the place comfortable and attractive has been provided. All the illumination apparatus of the tower shines with constant burnishing. The walls of every room are made very white with stucco, and the woodwork of the establishment is in keeping with it. In the building containing the fog whistles there is never to be found dirt enough to make any show on a dustpan, while every joint of the machinery is closely watched and the boilers frequently cleaned, so that no possibility exists of the whistles failing to do their duty at any time on a few moments notice. The reporter sat in Mrs. McGuire’s cozily furnished parlor and enjoyed the music from the piano and conversation with the lightkeeper and his lady. Capt. and Mrs. McGuire said that the house and tower are always open to inspection and visitors will be welcome.”

This was not how the couple had found the station when they arrived on May 1, 1882. Both the former keeper, Philip Morgan, and his assistant, Richard Barney, had recently been fired by the District Inspector. The lighthouse log for May 1: “…Found Mr. Morgan & family absent. Got possession of the station on the 5th & found it in a bad and dirty condition.”

This was inexcusable, as the building was supposed to be occupied year-round. The atmosphere there, however, could be quite homey, and it is easy to imagine what caused the following euphoric log entry: “December 25, 1882. A remarkable fine day for ‘Christmas.’ The children are enjoying the presents that Santa Claus filled their stockings with & are in general enjoying a house full of company after partaking of a very healthy dinner. ‘Merry Christmas to all.'”

But Lake Superior winters can be long and grueling. From the log of May 13, 1883, McGuire noted: “The tug Dudley started for Stannard Rock with the light Keeper & was obliged to return on account of the ice. There is a scow out about 10 miles east of the light which is in the ice…It is feared they are out of provisions & no possible chance to get to them.”

The station was also somewhat physically isolated when the McGuires arrived, as the only convenient access was by boat. McGuire was instrumental in extending the roadway from the end of Ridge Street to the lighthouse.

Patrick, Catherine, and their children had arrived from the even more isolated Thunder Bay Island Station in northern Lake Huron, where they had kept the light since 1872. They had requested the transfer so that their three sons might have the opportunity of attending school. They also had a married daughter and grandchildren living in Ishpeming.

“Captain” was usually an honorary appellation for lighthouse keepers – but in this case it was warranted. McGuire, who had roots in the Chicago area, had been sailing the Great Lakes since at least 1848, when he had been a “boy before the mast” on the schooner Acorn. In 1853 he had been First Mate on the propeller Peninsula. Finally, McGuire became master of a vessel owned by the E.B. Ward Line which ran between Detroit and Sault Ste Marie.

While a new keeper had been acquired with Captain McGuire’s arrival, Marquette’s station also required an assistant keeper for many reasons. The light in the tower was vital, but there was also a fog signal in a building at the toe of the point, as well as a hand-lit light tower at the end of the wooden breakwater. During the shipping season, as might be imagined, things could get frantic.

Once, during a foggy period in 1890, the bleary-eyed McGuire was forced to follow dictum No. 138 in the 1881 edition of the United States Lighthouse Board’s Instructions to Light-Keepers, “Whenever the apparatus is in operation, a keeper must be in the engine house, in charge and awake. It will not answer to leave the machinery alone for a single moment.” This time, the fog whistle was hooting for twenty-six consecutive hours.

As was somewhat common, Mrs. Catherine McGuire filled the role of her husband’s assistant. As undoubtedly valuable as her assistance was, it can be assumed that Captain McGuire handled most of the heavy work and engineering himself. The turnover of keepers and assistant keepers at Marquette was impressive, Captain McGuire was the tenth keeper since the station opened in 1853, while Mrs. McGuire was the tenth assistant keeper. To find out more about the end of the McGuires tenure at the Marquette Lighthouse, check back for next week’s article.