The Fresnel lens in the lantern room of the Pottawatomie Lighthouse on Rock Island. Photo by Tim Sweet.
Voyage into the past and visit some of the state’s most scenic and storied lighthouses 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 2 on PBS Wisconsin and Milwaukee PBS
An all-new PBS Wisconsin documentary illuminates the power and appeal of Wisconsin Lighthouses. Viewers will explore their history, idyllic settings, unique architecture and the people who called these lighthouses home.
Wisconsin Lighthouses premieres 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 2 on PBS Wisconsin, and Milwaukee PBS’ WMVS-TV. The program will have encore broadcasts 7 pm Thursday, Dec. 5 on Milwaukee PBS and 7 pm Tuesday, Dec. 10 on PBS Wisconsin.
The full program will also be available for streaming shortly after broadcast at pbswisconsin.org/lighthouses and on the free PBS app on all streaming devices.
Since the mid-19th century in our state, Wisconsin’s lighthouses have guided generations of mariners to safe harbors. They have since served as symbols of the past brimming with history and architecture. This all-new PBS Wisconsin special is a voyage exploring our state’s scenic wonders and a celebration of these beacons of Wisconsin’s maritime legacy.
“These are wonderful treasures that tell the story of how we got to where we are today,” Wisconsin Lighthouses producer Jeff Pfeiffer said. “I want people to walk away with a deeper appreciation of not only the lighthouses, but also an appreciation of the sacrifices that the keepers and their families made.”
From the towering Cana Island Lighthouse on Lake Michigan to the remote outposts of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior and many other significant landmark beacons along Wisconsin’s shorelines, Wisconsin Lighthouses takes viewers on a tour of Wisconsin’s most beloved and historically significant lighthouses.
The documentary reveals lighthouses as more than just navigational aids — they are living museums that tell the story of Wisconsin’s growth, its immigrant heritage and the dedication of the keepers who maintained these vital landmarks. Viewers will discover little-known tales of heroism, tragedy and perseverance of lighthouse keepers from Pottawatomie Lighthouse and North Point Lighthouse.
Complementing the Wisconsin Lighthouses documentary is Illuminating Cana Island, an interactive virtual tour of one of the state’s most iconic lighthouses – Cana Island.
When exploring this online activity, learn what it took to maintain this Door County lighthouse in this virtual window into life on Cana Island 150 years ago. Walk the grounds, listen to the sounds, and read the logbooks of daily duties of a lighthouse keeper. The interactive tour also features a series of cutaway images by Caldecott Award-winning illustrator Sophie Blackall (“Hello Lighthouse”), which show what family life was like inside Cana Island Lighthouse.
The Illuminating Cana Island interactive virtual tour can be experienced now at pbswisconsin.org/lighthouses.
