Fox Islands (Lake Michigan)

The Fox Islands consist of the North Fox and South Fox Islands, in Lake Michigan. The uninhabited islands are approximately 17 miles (27 km) northwest of Cathead Point near the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula of Michigan and about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Beaver Island. The two islands form part of an archipelago. South Fox Island Light was built in 1867 and operated until 1959. Both islands are part of Leelanau County, Michigan, and are administered by Leelanau Township. Several shipwrecks have occurred on the Fox Islands, or the reefs adjoining them; in 1851, the Illinois was reported as a "total wreck" on the Fox Island reef, In 1860, the bark Fontanelle ran aground at the Fox Islands, and in 1861, the schooner Nightingale. In 1873, the ships Frank Perew and Magnet encountered trouble at the Fox Islands.