Huron Island Light
.jpg)
Huron Island Light as seen in 2006
|
|
 |
|
| Location | Lighthouse Island, Powell Township, Marquette County, offshore from Big Bay, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 46°57′48″N 87°59′54″W / 46.96333°N 87.99833°WCoordinates: 46°57′48″N 87°59′54″W / 46.96333°N 87.99833°W |
| Year first constructed | 1868 |
| Year first lit | 1877 (current tower) |
| Automated | 1972 |
| Foundation | surface rock |
| Construction | granite/brick |
| Tower shape | square |
| Markings / pattern | natural with white lantern |
| Height | 39 feet (12 m) |
| Focal height | 197 feet (60 m) |
| Original lens | 3½-order Fresnel lens |
| Range | 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) |
| Characteristic | White Fl 10 seconds |
| Fog signal | none |
| ARLHS number | USA-395 |
| USCG number |
7-14730 |
|
Huron Islands Lighthouse
|
|
| Nearest city | Big Bay, Michigan |
| Area | less than one acre |
| NRHP reference # | 75000955 |
| Added to NRHP | September 02, 1975 |
| Heritage | place listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
|
|
[]
|
|
7-14730
Huron Island Light is a lighthouse on Lake Superior near Big Bay, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Huron Islands Lighthouse in 1975. It is on one of the Huron Islands Wilderness.
Reefs, shoals and islands presented an increasing danger to freighters as commerce developed in the area. This location lies astride a critical turning point—for vessels entering Huron Bay, Keweenaw Bay, or Portage Entry—and is often shrouded in fog. Beginning mid-Nineteenth century, with the copper boom in the Keweenaw Peninsula, the Huron Islands were a navigational hazard to vessels following the coast to/from Portage River, Michigan.
In 1860 the side wheeler S.S. Arctic ran into the easternmost of the Huron Islands. The ship was lost, but passengers, crew and cattle were evacuated onto the island—still known as "Cattle Island" to this day from the marooned beasts. "Even though no lives were lost, the wreck became the final straw in the battle to get a lighthouse in this location."
In 1867, Congress appropriated $17,000 for a lighthouse located in the Huron Islands. The survey crew chose the highest point on Lighthouse Island, the westernmost of the group as the location for the light. With the exception of 205 feet (62 m) Grand Island North Light, this is the highest focal plane in the western Great Lakes. The lighthouse was constructed in 1868, along with a privy, oil house, boat dock, and tramway, and was first lit on October 20 of that year.
...
Wikipedia