The Sand Island lighthouse consists of an octagonal tower and attached two-story dwelling, all built from brown sandstone cut from the promontory on which it stands.

As the lighthouse neared completion, a fixed white Fourth Order Fresnel lens was placed in the lantern room, and the light was displayed for the first time on September 25, 1881.

[8] Lederle’s tenure at the lighthouse was distinguished by his heroic rescue of the crew of the Canadian steamer Prussia, which caught fire about ten miles off Sand Island on Sept. 12, 1885.

Rowing the light station boat into heavy seas, Lederle was able to reach one of the ship’s lifeboats which was being blown toward the open lake by the gale.

In contrast to the terse accounts of weather and station upkeep typically found in these journals, Ella treated the logbook more like a personal diary, detailing each days’ events in her life.

[12] These daily journals also show that Ella was frequently left on her own for several days at a time to tend the light while her husband went to the mainland to get mail and supplies.

During that time, 22-year-old Ella took on the responsibilities both of caring for her sick husband during the day and tending the lamp through the night, then finally completing the numerous chores involved in closing the lighthouse for the winter.

The couple’s divorce became final in 1906, and census records show that Ella returned to her native Rhode Island where she embarked on a new career in nursing, and eventually remarried.

[18] National Park Service volunteers provide guided tours of the lighthouse during the summer season, usually between the hours of 12:00 and 4:00 pm.