 The lighthouse location was prioritized sixth in a 1901 study of 15 Alaska proposed sites.It would assist shipping along Southeast Alaska's Inside Passage, at the north end of the Tongass Narrows, "one of the more difficult passages along the route" of Klondike Gold Rush-related shipping to Juneau and to Skagway.Construction of the Guard Island Lighthouse began in the summer of 1903 and was completed by September 1904.