South Manitou Island Lighthouse stands on an island in Lake Michigan and long served ships using the Manitou Passage, an important route between the Straits of Mackinac and Chicago. Authorized in 1838 because the island offered storm shelter and harbor facilities, the light was first illuminated in 1840 under keeper William N. Burton. Rebuilt in 1858 and replaced by the present tower in 1872, it became a prominent aid to navigation on a safer alternative to the open lake. The station was also linked to the lake’s dangers, including the 1878 deaths of keeper Aaron Sheridan and his family nearby. Decommissioned in 1958, it was later restored, relit in 2009, and preserved as a museum and historic landmark.