The attractive Split Rock Lighthouse is one of the most popular features found along Minnesota's 150 mile long North Shore Drive. Route 61 bordering Lake Superior, is covered with scenic wonders from Duluth to the Canadian border. But it's the lighthouse that attracts over 120,000 visitors each summer. The beacon, built in 1910, is perched atop the 130 foot Stony Point cliff. It was the Lighthouse Commission that dispersed the 15,000 dollars for construction and it remains unclear why they named the light station after the Split Rock River. Perhaps it may have been the only named, nearby feature in this rugged wilderness land.
     Without overland access, the lighthouse construction went extremely well. The beautiful Cream City brick tower was completed in two years. The well designed Parisian lens projected its beam up to 22 miles. Its gasoline powered, compressed air driven diaphone fog signal could be heard over five miles. The lightkeeper's isolation ended in 1924 with completion of Route 61. Just eight years later, after the highway was completed, the North Shore lighthouse hosted 30,000 visitors.