the lighthouse was automated in 1926, and was sold the following year which resulted in its deactivation. the keeper's residence was used as an apartment building in the 1940s and later as a restaurant in 1983. the wooden lighthouse was removed from the pier in 1952 and was relocated to the new owner's marina on the portage river. that same year a new white skeleton tower was erected on the spot which used a modern 375 mm lens.