The United States Lighthouse Service approved construction of the Sand Point Lighthouse in Escanaba at a cost of $11,000. Construction began in the fall of 1867, and was completed in early spring 1868. John Terry was appointed the first lighthouse keeper of the new lighthouse in December 1867, but he became very ill and died in April 1868 a month before the lighthouse was ready to be manned. With the lighthouse nearly completed, but with no lightkeeper ready to report to duty, John Terry’s wife, Mary, was appointed lightkeeper and subsequently became one of the first female lightkeepers on the Great Lakes Mary was the one who lit the fourth order Fresnel lens on the night of May 13, 1868. which could be seen for 11.5 miles.

Mary Terry was a well-respected citizen in the community and fulfilled her duties as lightkeeper with efficiency and dedication.She lived there alone, as she and her husband had no children and was lightkeeper until 1886, when a mysterious fire severely damaged the lighthouse and took her life. To date, no one knows exactly what happened or why it happened. Some speculate that it was an attempted burglary and that the suspect set the lighthouse afire to cover any evidence of wrongdoing. The south entrance door showed signs of forced entry, yet none of Mary Terry’s valuables were taken, and the fact that Mary was found in the oil room and not in her bedroom, led people to believe there was foul play. Deep snow made it impossible for fire fighters to reach the lighthouse before it was very badly damaged. Some people who knew Mary Terry found it hard to believe that this was an accident since she was so careful and efficient.

One other strange fact about the Sand Point Lighthouse is that it was constructed with its tower facing the land instead of facing the water. Whether this orientation was intentional or an engineering blunder is unknown.

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Completed in 1858 the Point Betsie Lighthouse, north of Frankfort, is the oldest building in Benzie County. Standing along the shores of Lake Michigan marking the southern entrance to the Manitou Passage. In 1875 one of the first life saving stations was established by the U. S. Life Saving Service at the lighthouse. This was the last manned lighthouse on Lake Michigan, and the last Michigan lighthouse to lose its keeper after it was automated in 1982.

Erosion of the sandy point has always been a problem threatening the lighthouse, and in 1890 a ring of concrete was inserted under the tower. A curved breakwall was constructed at the water’s edge to absorb the energy of the waves crashing into the shore. I am thinking the blocks protruding from the surface of the concrete are there to keep the ice from Lake Michigan from pushing up to the lighthouse, but I could not find anything to confirm this.

Point Betsie Lighthouse is said to be one of Americas most photographed lighthouses, and with its red gamble roof and its green trim it is a beautiful lighthouse standing watch guiding ships as they pass by. if you want to visit the lighthouse you can find out more at their page HERE http://www.pointbetsie.org/

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The first lighthouse in the state of Michigan was constructed In 1825 north of Fort Gratiot at the entrance to the St Clair River near Port Huron. The contract for the construction of the lighthouse and keeper’s dwelling was awarded to Captain Winslow Lewis of Massachusetts. Lewis was the inventor of the patented Lewis lamp, Which was universally adopted as the primary source of illumination in the nation’s growing inventory of lighthouses. Lewis sub-contracted the construction of the tower and keeper’s dwelling that would become known as the “Fort Gratiot Light” to Daniel Warren of Rochester, New York.

it became quickly apparent that the structure was both poorly designed and constructed. George McDougall, was selected as the light’s first official keeper. McDougall’s reports indicated that the stairs were so steep that they had to be climbed sideways, and the trapdoor into the lantern room was barely large enough for a man to squeeze through, but he was a short man with a weight in excess of 300 pounds, and as such hired an assistant to perform all of his tower work. Originally the tower was 32 feet tall. In 1861, after two additions, the tower reached its current height of 82 feet.

the tower was damaged during a storm in the fall of 1828, and later fell down. Congress reacted swiftly and appropriated $8,000 for a new tower in 1829. The new tower was 65 feet tall and 25′ in diameter and it was outfitted with the Lewis lamp system powered by whale oil, which was then the standard. The Lewis lamps were removed from Fort Gratiot in 1857, and the tower was refitted with a fourth-order Fresnel lens, which had an intensity at least four times that of the old Lewis lamps

The Lighthouse was eventually upgraded to a modern electric lamp and is the oldest active lighthouse in Michigan.

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Commissioned in 1921, the Huron began service as a relief vessel for other Great Lakes lightships. She is ninety-seven feet long, twenty-four feet in beam, and carried a crew of eleven. On clear nights her beacon could be seen for fourteen miles. After serving in northern Lake Michigan, the Huron was assigned to the Corsica Shoals in 1935. These shallow waters, six miles north of Port Huron, were the scene of frequent groundings by lake freighters in the late nineteenth century. A lightship station had been established there in 1893, since the manned ships were more reliable than lighted buoys. After 1940 the Huron was the only lightship on the Great Lakes. Retired from Coast Guard Service in 1970, she was presented to the City of Port Huron in 1971.

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Rather than bore you with facts about the lighthouse, I figure I would tell you a story about my first trip there back in the mid 90’s. I know it was the mid 90’s because my wife and I had a 92 Ford Explore and an old camper, and were camping in July at Burt Lake State Park. That summer was one of the hottest on record, and while we were there it was almost 100 degrees, ( I think it was literally one of the hottest days on record in Michigan.) I told my wife we need to get away from the heat and go for a drive along with our black lab Woody. Heading north from Indian River and relaxing in the air conditioned comfort of our blue SUV, I was in no hurry to stop and get out into the heat. We ended going all the way to Whitefish Point. I remember getting out of the car and the cool breeze from Lake Superior blowing across the parking lot and actually thinking I need a sweatshirt or something. so we walked around and I am sure I took some pics with my old 35mm camera, (maybe I will find the prints someday) and then we went over to the gift shop and I will never forget what she said. ” this is the nicest day we have had here in a long time” and I remember seeing a thermometer on the outside wall of the store saying it was 70 degrees outside.  Now fast forward to last winter when I got this pic, and let me tell you, the wind from Lake Superior cut thru me like razor blades from some sort of frozen hell on earth, but I still stopped and got a pic. I must say that no matter what the weather is like, any day in the U.P. is a nice day.

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I just found out that the Coast Guard is looking at removing the Fresnel lens from the Tawas Point Lighthouse and moving the light to the fog signal tower farther down the point. the Coast Guard press release is HERE  . The current lighthouse was completed in 1876 and still currently guides ships into Tawas Bay with its 4th order Fresnel lens. One of the few lighthouses in the nation still using the old original lens, the Coast Guard owns the light, but the Michigan DNR owns the lighthouse. The Coast Guard said they are removing the lens to preserve it, and usually loan them to museums, and since the lighthouse is a museum, I am hoping that they decide to keep it at Tawas Point. I also hope they will have a light in the lighthouse, not for an aid to navigation, but it is nice to see a light emanating from the tower. While I was camping at the state park, at night you could see the light from the campground.

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In 1832, Congress authorized a lightship to be placed on Waugoshance Shoal as the first attempt to mark the western entrance to the Straits. In 1838, Lieutenant James T. Homans reported that the lightship was wholly inadequate. He recommended a better solution for Waugoshance and also that a light be built on the point to the west of Mackinaw Harbor. Nothing came of Homans’ recommendations. In 1854, the new Lighthouse Administration decided (against the recommendation of local residents) to put a light at McGulpin Point, approximately 3 miles to the west of Old Point Mackinaw.

In 1889, the United States Lighthouse Board realized that Mackinaw Point was a better location. Their first inclination was to put a fog signal there, but when asking Congress for funding, they requested funding for both a fog signal and a first class lighthouse. Congress chose to accept their recommendation, but only voted the funding for a steam-powered fog-signal. The fog signal was built in 1890. The signal proved to be exceptionally necessary for navigation in the often fog-choked Straits of Mackinac.

.In March 1891, Congress finally authorized the funding for a light station and the board acted quickly. Bidding was difficult, but in 1892, “on a foundation of ashlar limestone, the tower and attached keeper’s dwelling were both constructed of Cream City brick, trimmed with Indiana Limestone. The double-walled cylindrical tower was laid with an outside diameter of 13 feet 4 inches , and as each course was added, rose to a height of 45 feet , surmounted by a circular iron gallery and an 8-foot-8-inch diameter watch room, which was in turn capped by a prefabricated octagonal iron lantern.”The lens is a fourth order Fresnel Lens.

Its light was visible for 14 nautical miles; (16 Miles), which made it “particularly valuable” to the railroad car ferries SS Chief Wawatam and SS Sainte Marie operating between Mackinaw City and St. Ignace.

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