A light for a young harbor
Michigan City grew up around a harbor at the mouth of Trail Creek, and ships on Lake Michigan needed a light to find it. The town’s first lighthouse, a brick tower with a small house for the keeper, was finished in the late 1830s.
In 1858 the government replaced it. The new lighthouse was a seven-room home with a short tower on its roof. Up in the lantern room sat a fifth-order Fresnel lens, a ringed glass lens that bent the lamp’s glow into a steady white beam. That 1858 building is the one still standing near the harbor today.
How Harriet Colfax became keeper
Harriet Colfax was born in Ogdensburg, New York, in the 1820s. In the early 1850s she came to Michigan City to help her brother run a local newspaper. He died young, in 1856, and she needed a way to support herself.
In 1861, the first year of the Civil War, she was named keeper of the Michigan City light. In those days keepers were political appointments. Her cousin was Schuyler Colfax, then an Indiana congressman and later Vice President of the United States. Some accounts say he helped her get the job. The National Park Service notes that newspapers assumed so, but that it has not been confirmed.
She held the post for 43 years.
Harriet and Ann
Harriet did not live at the light alone. She shared the lighthouse with her lifelong companion, Ann Hartwell, whom she had known in upstate New York before both women moved west. Ann came to Michigan City in the 1850s, and the two made their home together for the rest of their lives.
Ann died in January 1905. Harriet died a few months later. They are buried side by side in Greenwood Cemetery in Michigan City.
The work, and the people who helped
A keeper’s job never let up. Harriet lit the lamps after sunset and put them out after daylight, every night of the shipping season. She kept a logbook of the weather and the boats. For years the lamps burned lard oil, which thickened in the cold, so she heated it before she could light up. Kerosene came later.
In 1871 the work grew. An elevated walkway was built out along the east pier, with a second light at its far end. Keeping two lights was more than one person could do, so an assistant keeper was hired that year. From 1871 into the early 1880s, five assistant keepers served with her: two women and three men. Their help mattered, and they belong in her story.
Still, Harriet guarded one part of the job. Looking back in 1904, she told the Chicago Tribune: “I could not bear to see anyone else light my lamp.”
The pier light was hard to reach. In winter storms, waves washed over the pier and froze on the walkway. For a time the beacon stood on the west pier instead, and she had to cross Trail Creek by boat to tend it. Her logbook recorded fierce gales on the lake. A storm in 1886 finally carried the pier beacon away.
The end of an era
By 1904 the harbor was changing. A new light was going up at the end of a longer east pier, and the old station was being modernized. In October 1904, at about 80 years old, Harriet stepped down. Her successor, Mr. Armstrong, took over that month, and within days the light she had kept was moved to the new pierhead tower.
The two women moved to a new home in town. Ann died that winter, in January 1905, and Harriet died in April 1905, less than a year after leaving the lighthouse.
Visiting the Old Lighthouse
The 1858 lighthouse is now the Old Lighthouse Museum, run by the Michigan City Historical Society. After years of restoration, it opened to the public in June 1973, with a rebuilt tower and lantern room on top. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Check the society’s site for current visiting information.
Out on the east pier, the 1904 light that replaced Harriet’s still stands, with its elevated iron catwalk. The tower and catwalk are closed to the public. The pier is a fine place to watch the lake, but stay off it when waves are breaking over it. See our Lake Michigan page and Michigan City guide for more.
Questions
How long did Harriet Colfax keep the Michigan City lighthouse?
43 years. She was appointed in 1861 and retired in October 1904, at about 80.
Did Harriet Colfax have help at the lighthouse?
Yes. After a pier light was added in 1871, assistant keepers were hired. Five served with her, two women and three men. She also lived at the lighthouse with her lifelong companion, Ann Hartwell.
Is the Old Lighthouse in Michigan City still standing?
Yes. The 1858 lighthouse is now the Old Lighthouse Museum, run by the Michigan City Historical Society. It opened as a museum in June 1973.
Where are Harriet Colfax and Ann Hartwell buried?
Side by side in Greenwood Cemetery in Michigan City.
Sources: National Park Service: Harriet Colfax · Lighthousefriends: Old Michigan City Lighthouse · Indiana State Library, Hoosier State Chronicles: Harriet Colfax, Guardian of the Indiana Shore · WTTW: Harriet Colfax and Ann Hartwell · Michigan City Historical Society: The Old Lighthouse · Indiana Landmarks: Michigan City lighthouses · Historical Marker Database: Old Lighthouse marker