Seul Choix Light
The light in 2006
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| Location | Schoolcraft County, Michigan |
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| Coordinates | 45°55′17″N 85°54′43″W / 45.92139°N 85.91194°WCoordinates: 45°55′17″N 85°54′43″W / 45.92139°N 85.91194°W |
| Year first lit | 1892 |
| Automated | 1972 |
| Foundation | Ashlar stone |
| Construction | Brick, Italianate bracketing |
| Tower shape | Frustum of a cone, attached keeper's house |
| Markings / pattern | White orig./White/black markings/red roofs |
| Height | 77 feet (23 m) |
| Focal height | 80 feet (24 m) |
| Original lens | Third order Fresnel lens |
| Current lens | Vega Industries Marine LED Beacon |
| Range | 16 nautical miles (30 km; 18 mi) |
| Characteristic | white flash every 6 seconds |
| Fog signal | Diaphone (not active, on display) |
| ARLHS number | USA-749 |
| USCG number |
7-21490 |
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Seul Choix Pointe Light Station
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U.S. Coast Guard photo c1915
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| Nearest city | Manistique, Michigan |
| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Architect | Orlando M. Poe |
| Architectural style | Italianate bracketing |
| MPS | USCG Lighthouses and Light Stations on the Great Lakes TR |
| NRHP Reference # | 84001846 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | July 19, 1984 |
| Designated MSHS | August 21, 1987 |
7-21490
The Seul Choix Light is a lighthouse located in the northwest corner of Lake Michigan in Schoolcraft County, Michigan. The station was established in 1892 with a temporary light, and this light started service in 1895, and was fully automated in 1972. It is an active aid to navigation. There is now a museum at the light and both the building and the grounds are open for visitors from Memorial Day until the middle of October.
This location is the only harbor of refuge along a treacherous stretch of coast. Its French name is "only choice", suggesting that it was used as a refuge by the early French traders in this area. Local references state that the correct pronunciation is "Sis-shwa", assumed to be the common name used by both the French Voyageurs and the Native Americans with whom they traded.
In the 1880s, there was increased maritime traffic between the harbors on Lake Michigan's western shore and Green Bay on the one hand, and the Straits of Mackinac on the other. Although the St. Helena Island Light marked the western entry into the Straits, and Poverty Island Light lighted the entrance to the Bays de Noc, there were no lighthouses to aid mariners navigating a dark 100-mile (160 km) stretch of coastline on the southern shore of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The navigation season along this shoreline often began and ended with treacherous storms. Waves would build as they traversed the lake, making shelter a matter of life and death. Thus, mariners would seek shelter on the leeward side of points protruding into the lake along this stretch of unlighted shore.
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Wikipedia