Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse
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| Location | Mackinaw City, Michigan |
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| Coordinates | 45°47′15″N 84°43′46″W / 45.78750°N 84.72944°WCoordinates: 45°47′15″N 84°43′46″W / 45.78750°N 84.72944°W |
| Year first constructed | 1892 |
| Year first lit | 1892 |
| Deactivated | 1957 |
| Foundation | Ashlar limestone |
| Construction | Cream City brick |
| Tower shape | Cylindrical "castle" with attached dwelling |
| Markings / pattern | Natural with black lantern |
| Height | 50 feet (15 m) |
| Focal height | 62 feet (19 m) |
| Original lens | Fourth order Fresnel lens |
| Range | 14 nautical miles; 26 kilometres (16 mi) |
| ARLHS number |
USA-463 |
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Mackinac Point Lighthouse
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Vintage image of the station
U.S. Coast Guard photo |
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| Location | Michilimackinac State Park, Mackinaw City, Michigan |
| Area | 0.9 acres (3,600 m2) |
| NRHP Reference # | 69000068 |
| Added to NRHP | October 1, 1969 |
| Heritage | place listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
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USA-463
Mackinaw Point marks the junction of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Founded in 1889, the Old Mackinac Point Light Station was in operation from 1890 until 1957.
Even before the advent of European explorers, the Straits of Mackinac were a significant hazard to water borne travelers. Consequently, before lighthouses, the Ojibwa lit the shore with fires.
In the early 19th century, with large vessel traffic increasing from Lake Huron into the Straits, the first step in guarding the Straits was taken in 1829, through the construction of Bois Blanc Lighthouse to both guide mariners in making the westerly turn into the Straits, and to warn them of the shoals and shallows surrounding the island.
Three years later in 1832, Congress acted on Stephen Pleasonton’s recommendation that a lightship 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 (4.8 km) 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; during one exceptionally humid fortnight, the Old Mackinac Point signal personnel reported burning 52 cords of stove wood in order to keep steam up for the foghorn.
The lighthouse "grew out of the fog station." 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 (4.06 m), and as each course was added, rose to a height of 45 feet (14 m), surmounted by a circular iron gallery and an 8-foot-8-inch (2.64 m) diameter watch room, which was in turn capped by a prefabricated octagonal iron lantern." The lens is a fourth order Fresnel Lens.
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Wikipedia