The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is located at the Whitefish Point Light Station 11 miles (18 km) north of Paradise in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The light station property was transferred to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS), the Michigan Audubon Society (MAS), and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in 1996. The three entities share governance of the site. The museum is operated by the GLSHS. The museum exhibits artifacts from shipwrecks from the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve and the bell from the wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. Admission to the museum includes a tour of historic buildings with displays that interpret the Great Lakes maritime, United States Coast Guard, and US Life-Saving Service history.
An active navigational light has operated at Whitefish Point since 1848. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) stationed personnel at Whitefish Point until 1971 when the navigational equipment was automated. Whitefish Township was successful in its bid to place the Whitefish Point light, the oldest active light on Lake Superior, on National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
The MAS secured a license from the Coast Guard in 1976 for access to the Whitefish Point Light Station property for the study of migrating birds. In 1978, the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory (WPBO) was formed as an affiliate of the MAS and began monitoring migrating birds at Whitefish Point.
The GLSHS was formed by a group of divers in 1978 as a private, nonprofit organization. Its mission is "to promote and augment an understanding and appreciation of maritime history with particular emphasis on the Great Lakes museum facilities." In 1983, the GLSHS obtained a 25-year lease from the United States Coast Guard (USCG) to operate a museum at the Whitefish Point Light Station. The GLSHS began obtaining public funds in 1984 from federal and state agencies.
In 1990, the GLSHS signed an agreement with Whitefish Township that gave residents and visitors public access to Lake Superior, parking, and the restrooms at Whitefish Point.
In 1992, the state of Michigan filed a lawsuit against the GLSHS for removal of artifacts from shipwrecks on the Great Lakes bottomlands in violation of Michigan's Antiquities Act of 1980. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) obtained a search warrant in 1992 and raided the GLSHS offices and museum and found evidence that GLSHS had "removed about 150 artifacts from wrecks located on state-claimed bottomlands." In 1993, the state reached a settlement agreement with the GLSHS that loaned the artifacts back to them for display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.
In 1992, the stakeholders at the former Whitefish Point Light Station developed the Whitefish Point Comprehensive Plan. The stakeholders included Whitefish Township, the MAS, DNR, GLSHS, and USCG. The plan was developed with the purpose of discussion of land transfer of the Whitefish Point Light Station from the USCG and "proper land usage in terms of existing and future developments... to ensure that, through proper planning, the unique but somewhat fragile environment of the Coast Guard Site is fully protected."
In 1993, the GLSHS announced their intentions to seek a legislative transfer from the USCG so that they could hold 3 acres (1.2 ha) of the 44 acres (18 ha) of the Whitefish Point Light Station. In 1994, the GLSHS was involved in the removal of trees and the construction of an overflow parking lot. This led to a public meeting that discussed concerns about overdevelopment of the former light station.
On March 31, 1995, the GLSHS announced their intention to build "a new museum wing dedicated to Fitzgerald memorabilia."
On July 4, 1995, the GLSHS participated in the salvage of the bell from the wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. Experts at Michigan State University spent hundreds of hours conserving the bell and applying a protective coating. GLSHS's decision to have the protective coating stripped off and the bell shined was controversial. The bell became the centerpiece in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum as a memorial to the Fitzgerald crewmembers and all lost mariners. The GLSHS was involved in controversy again when it announced plans to take the Fitzgerald bell on a touring exhibition. GLSHS dropped its effort after family members of the Fitzgerald crew objected to using the bell as a "traveling trophy."
In 1996, GLSHS published their plans "to secure approval for controlled new construction at Whitefish Point... [to] include expansion of the Shipwreck Museum and a new building for the Shipwreck Coast Gift Shop."
In 1995, the MAS and WPBO took a public stand calling for the transfer of the entire Whitefish Point Light Station to the USFWS. U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak authored transfer legislation for the Whitefish Point Light Station that included "a reversionary clause which would stipulate that the property would revert back to the Coast Guard if not used appropriately." The USFWS's request to Stupak for the transfer of the light station was made public with assurances that no changes would be made to the GLSHS museum operation. A group called the Friends of Whitefish Point organized over their opposition of overdevelopment and private ownership of the light station property. They presented a petition with 1,600 signatures to Stupak that supported the transfer of the entire light station property to USFWS. In 1995, Stupak announced that he hadn't made a final decision, saying, "To tell those people [GLSHS] they can no longer run their museum because Fish and Wildlife wants it would be wrong." Stupak maintained that the transfer legislation would not go "before a committee or the house floor with disagreement among the affected parties."
After Stupak's earlier support to transfer of all of Whitefish Point Light Station property to GLSHS, he introduced a bill in 1996 that would transfer to the land to the GLSHS, WPBO, and USFWS. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources requested that "the legislation be rewritten to remove authorization to expand the gift shop and other facilities." The Michigan State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) objected to Stupak's bill that allowed "'unchecked development' in violation of the National Historic Preservation Act."
The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1996 was enacted that gave the Coast Guard the authority to convey the Whitefish Point Lighthouse property to the stakeholders. The Coast Guard transferred a 8.27 acres (3.35 ha) parcel to the GLSHS for the interpretation of maritime history. The GLSHS parcel included all but one of the historic structures at Whitefish Point. The WPBO received 2.69 acres (1.09 ha) for research. The USFWS received 33 acres (13 ha) to be managed as part of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge. The stakeholders were issued land patents in 1998 and again in 2000 to correct an error in the original patents.
The transfer legislation requires that each recipient maintain their parcel in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and other applicable laws. The statute stipulates that development or expansion at the Whitefish Point Light requires written consent by the stakeholders, that full consideration is given to public comment, and it is "consistent with preservation of the Property in its predominantly natural, scenic, historic, and forested condition"
On November 1, 1998, the GLSHS announced their plans for the Great Lakes mariners project as "a carefully planned expansion for the museum's facilities". They planned two new wings for the museum with one wing featuring a theater and 125-seat lecture hall and "multi-purpose building... to house restrooms, inventory, larger sales area, and administrative offices."
The GLSHS constructed a 5,201 sq ft (483.2 m2) gift-shop/office building in 1999 that would become known as the multi-purpose building. The size of the building exceeded the largest historic structure on the site by more than 2,000 sq ft (190 m2). In November 2000, MAS filed a lawsuit against the GLSHS and USFWS. The lawsuit accused the GLSHS of overdeveloping the Whitefish Point Light Station in violation of its federal land patent and the USFWS of not protecting the site. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2001 when the parties arrived at a settlement agreement that appointed a mediator to negotiate the Human Use/Natural Resource Management Plan for Whitefish Point to regulate land use and any development at Whitefish Point. MAS acknowledged the museum's growth was not the sole cause of Whitefish Point's popularity that drew many visitors for sunbathing and ship watching. GLSHS agreed there must be a limit to development at Whitefish Point although it still intended to build museum wings.
In August 2002, a petition to recall the Whitefish Township supervisor placed "GLSHS at the center of local controversy". The Township Board of Trustees resolved the controversy on September 5, 2002 by accepting the supervisor's resignation and "disassociating the township from a scheme to convert 1,300 feet (400 m) of wilderness Lake Superior lakeshore into a Shipwreck Museum cruise ship landing."
GLSHS filed a lawsuit against the mediator and MAS on September 24, 2002 claiming breach of contract because SHPO was brought into the planning process at Whitefish Point. GLSHS claimed private property rights and therefore, SHPO had no authority to regulate development on the historic parcel they held by federal patent.
The legislation that transferred the light station property to the stakeholder required "a reasonable opportunity for public comment on... development or expansion, and full consideration has been given to such public comment". The stakeholders and the court appointed mediator, Jim Lively of the Michigan Land Use Institute, held public hearings on the new management plan for Whitefish Point on December 3, 2002. Prior to receiving public comment, Lively summarized the plan by explaining that it allowed two new wings for the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, would greatly alter the current parking areas by returning part of it to natural habitat, and would restrict people to trails. The public comments at the hearing were "fairly evenly matched... with the employees and board members of GLSHS supporting the plan and the residents and property owners of Whitefish Township primarily entering the official record in opposition." Reasons for opposition to plan included "increased foot and vehicular traffic, possible habitat loss, septic system monitoring, parking issues, building expansion, new construction, and possible contamination from lead, mercury, and other pollutants."
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