As the nation’s population and economy rapidly expanded throughout the 19th century, shipping traffic on the Great Lakes also grew, and violent storms, thick fog, shifting sandbars, rocky reefs, and heavy vessel traffic made this transportation corridor dangerous and sometimes deadly. The federal government responded by constructing a network of lighthouses across the Great Lakes to improve the safety of transporting people and commodities from lumber to grain to iron ore and cooper. In 1868, the Lighthouse Board decided to build a new light at Presque Isle instead of repairing the old one, and Congress appropriated funds in 1870. Lighthouse keeper Patrick Garrity, his wife, and five children moved into their new quarters in time for the 1871 navigation season, and three of Garrity’s sons and a daughter all became lighthouse keepers. The second keeper’s dwelling, built in 1905, responded to the scarcity of nearby housing available for assistant keepers. Automation, satellite navigation, radar, and improved weather forecasting transformed maritime transportation, but lighthouses remain sentinels of the Great Lakes and reminders of past bravery and dedication. People have traveled on the Great Lakes for thousands of years, and during the Shipwreck Century, 1825-1925, technology transformed maritime travel as small wooden sailing vessels evolved into giant steel steamers. Millions of trips were made across the lakes; most were successful, but fire, ice, collisions, and storms claimed both ships and lives. Today nearly 200 shipwrecks lie in Thunder Bay National Maritime Sanctuary, and four of its most accessible wrecks, Mason, Albany, American Union, and Portland, are located within 10 miles of here.