Lonest Place On The Planet

Local people say that someone went crazy living on Stannard Rock lighthouse for so long, separate from the world.
Stannard Rock Lighthouse, the loneliest place on the planet
The nearest land, Manitou Island, is about 40km northwest of Stannard Rock, making it the farthest lighthouse in America, and perhaps the world's most. Photo: Neil Harri.
For the past 60 years, Stannard Rock keepers have called it "the loneliest place in North America". It is located in the northern half of Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world located between Ontario, Canada and Minnesota, USA

. This place is so remote that the American coast guard today is still saying, "If you cause trouble bad enough, they will ban you to Stannard Rock."
The reef where the lighthouse stands today was discovered by Captain Charles C. Stannard in 1835 Stannard was amazed to see an unspecified obstacle far from shore in the middle of a clear water.



The rocky beach only sank about 1.2 m below the water surface, the captain realized the danger from this invisible mountain for boats passing here.
The US Lighthouse Service thinks there is a need for navigation lights for this area, but it is uncertain if any structures will stand in the middle of a lake known for its fierce storms like Superior.
For the test, the unit placed a rock about 3.6 m in diameter in the shallowest part of the reef, with a daytime beacon 6 m high above it. In 1868, when seeing the construction still standing after storms and ice, the new engineers were confident they could completely erect a lighthouse on the rocks.
Stannard Rock lighthouse stands firmly in the middle of a lake with inclement weather Photo: Neil Harri.




It took the engineering team five difficult years to complete the Stannard Rock lighthouse, which cost more than $ 300,000. Each spring, they return to the reef only to find that the storms last winter destroyed what they had erected. Workers sometimes complain that over the five years they have repaired more than built. During the summer, work is often delayed due to bad weather. In the years 1878 - 1879, the construction team could only work 61% of the time due to storms.
The last tower was completed and lit for the first time in 1882. It is 23.7 m high, with 7 floors, including kitchen, bedrooms, library, observation room and telescope .



.. Total 240,000 tons of iron and steel were used, so the new lighthouse lasted for hundreds of years.
Life in this remote place is extremely harsh. Intense storms sent waves up to 9 meters high and hit the tower, strong enough to knock items off wooden shelves and falling dishes from the table. If they had to go outside when there was a strong wind, the lampkeepers had to tie themselves with ropes so that they wouldn't be blown away.
Spring comes, and the keepers of the Stannard Rock lighthouse again have to use large axes to break the thick ice. In 1913, the entire tower was covered in ice thicker than 3.



6 m. It took a 12-man rescue team a week to rescue the guards trapped inside.
Unlike many other places, Stannard Rock's lampkeepers are not allowed to live with their wives or girls. The tower is only men. They play cards a lot, cook temporarily from canned food. Sometimes the men here are silent forever, because there is nothing to say. Life is completely separate from society is a big challenge, and many people soon quit their jobs due to being unable to bear loneliness.
Louis Wilks, who kept the lighthouse from 1936 to 1956, set a record for 99 consecutive days living on the Stannard Rock lighthouse.



It is a miracle that no one can overcome, because each person is only allowed ashore once every three weeks.
Extreme loneliness is something beyond imagination for those applying for this lighthouse position. Every day they just hang around on the watchtower, do not see the land and only the gulls screaming, surrounded by thundering waves. A person once threatened to swim to the shore, if there was no boat to pick up immediately. There was even a rumor that a person went crazy and was tied and limbs while being taken away.
However, weather or isolated space is not the most dangerous thing on the lighthouse. The real tragedy happened on the night of June 16, 1961. Around 9:30 p.



m., more than 3,700 liters of gasoline stored for the generator exploded, causing the whole tower to shake. The explosion ignited a propane chamber and a coal cellar. The flames blocked the lighthouse's only exit, turning it into a giant chimney that radiated terrible heat. The flames were so hot that part of the limestone near the lighthouse melted.
One engineer was killed and three others were injured on duty. The three men hope to be rescued soon. But it was only two days later that a patrol boat passed by to realize that the beacons were not working, and could not communicate via radio with the guards.



When it arrived at the lighthouse, the coast guard found three survivors. These people broke the door to climb to the windy balcony, and took an old canvas to shield.
A year later, the lighthouse was automated. This place is closed for sightseeing, so visitors can only observe from the boat or plane over here.
According to Bao Ngoc / Vnexpress
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