Gull Rock Light Station stands on a tiny, low islet west of Manitou Island in a hazardous Lake Superior passage used by mariners seeking shelter along Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. Congress funded the lighthouse in 1866, construction began in 1867, and the light entered service that November. The brick tower and attached keeper’s house were built on a rock so small and wave-washed that it could nearly disappear in fog and storms, underscoring the station’s navigational importance. Automated in 1913 and later neglected, the station deteriorated, though repairs and major structural work have helped preserve it. Repeated nearby wrecks in the early 20th century highlighted the continuing danger of the surrounding shoals.