[Southsider2k12]

http://www.post-trib.com/news/neighbors/86...ittmann.article

Museum sheds light on Michigan City's rich history

March 27, 2008
By Joan Dittmann Post-Tribune correspondent

It was a quarter-mile walk between the Michigan City lighthouse on the pier and the lighthouse keeper's house. Some days the walk was covered with deep snow. Other days, howling winds splashed icy waves over the path. Yet every day and twice every night, Harriet Colfax tended that light, and she did so for over 30 years until retiring at age 80 in 1904.

Hers is just one of the many interesting stories told at the Old Lighthouse Museum in Michigan City, which opens for the season on Tuesday.

The museum in the historic 1858 structure that once housed the light and assistant keepers' families tells much more than just their stories. Artifacts, photos and documents tell the story of the once-bustling freight and passenger harbor that lured 10,000 tourists daily from Chicago via steamships on summer weekends in the early 1900s.

The tragic account of one of those steamers, the Eastland, in which 800 people died, is told through texts, artifacts and a graphic postcard collection. The museum has exhibits on many other shipwrecks and on shipbuilding, the Coast Guard, Great Lakes lighthouses, lighthouse technology and more.

The museum offers self-guided tours or tours by one of their knowledgeable docents. School-age children find interest in artifacts such as the plaster cast life mask of Abraham Lincoln in the collection, chronicling the stop his funeral train made in Michigan City.

Visitors with children can also visit the adjacent park, beach or zoo or walk to the light at the end of the catwalk.

The Old Lighthouse Museum is located at the west end of Washington Park on Michigan City's lakefront. Hours are 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is $3 for adults, $1 for high school students and 50 cents for elementary students. To get to the museum from Interstate 94, exit on U.S. 421 (Franklin Street) north into downtown Michigan City. Turn right at 9th Street, then left onto Pine Street. Follow Pine Street across the bridge, go right and immediately do a U-turn into the marina and lighthouse parking lot. A parking fee is assessed for visitors also doing other activities in the park.

Think you might like to shed a light on local history for others? The museum is holding a volunteer open house at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Also, mark your calendar for the 150th anniversary celebration of this historic landmark on Aug. 9. More information is available at 872-6133 or at www.oldlighthousemuseum.org.

E-mail Joan Dittmann at j4dittmann@yahoo.com or call 477-6013 if you have an idea for a Family Destination feature.