Little Point Sable Light,
Silver Lake Sand Dunes, Lake Michigan
According to the specifications of the architect, 109 one-foot diameter pilings were driven into
the sand nine feet down. Twelve feet of cut stone was placed on top of the pilings to build the
brick tower upon. Walls at the base were five-feet thick, with the upper walls two-feet thick.
Work had to stop due to the harsh winter coming on, but was resumed the following Spring. With the completion of the lighthouse,
it became the tallest of the Lake Michigan lights, at 115 feet.
Holland Harbor Light,
"Big Red",
Lake Michigan
Known as Holland Harbor South Pierhead Lighthouse, the original
wooden lighthouse was first built in 1872. In 1907, it was replaced by a skeletal light tower and also
had a keeper's quarters. It held a sixth-order Fresnel lens and guided ships into Lake Macatawa off
Lake Michigan. In 1936 the skeletal tower was removed and the light placed on a tower built on one of
the twin gables of the keeper's quarters. The dwelling was the encased in steel plates, which were painted
red.
Rock of Ages Lighthouse,
Isle Royale,
Lake Superior, Michigan
A beautiful lighthouse is that of the Rock of Ages, west of Isle Royale
in the northern part of Lake Superior. In 1907 the builder blasted out the rock island so that a steel caisson
30 feet high and 50 feet wide could be placed on it and filled with concrete to act as a foundation for the
lighthouse, built upon the rock at about water level. On this pier was built the light tower of brick, one
hundred and thirty feet high. it was completed in 1908 and first shone its light on September 15th of that
year.
Big Sable Point Light, Ludington, Michigan
By the early 1900s, the tower
had deteriorated severely and so was encased in iron plates, with cement
poured between the original brickwork. To make the tower a good daymark, the
keepers painted the lantern and the middle third of the tower black and the
upper and lower sections white. The light was automated in 1985 with a 300mm
plastic lens. Big Sable today is part of Ludington State Park.
Split Rock Light, Lake Superior, Minnesota
One of the amusing and alarming stories of the
construction concerned the blasting crew and their efforts to level the
cliff for the lighthouse. While the day crew rested, the blasters would fill
holes in the rock with dynamite, cover the area with a mat of brush and logs
and trigger their explosion. The log cushion was not 100 percent effective
and stone and wood missiles of various sizes often rained over the camp, No
one, however, was seriously injured by these blasts. Countless holes were
punctured in the roofs of the three new barns, though!
Point Betsie Lighthouse, Frankfort, Michigan, Lake Michigan
On October 16,
1880, the schooner J.H.Hartzell, carrying 495 tons of iron-ore from L'Anse
to Frankfort, was wrecked about a mile south of Frankfort Harbor. All
crewmembers, except a female cook, were rescued by the professional crew of
the lightsaving station and were aided by the townsfolk. The heroics were
detailed in the 1881 Annual Report of the Lightsaving Service.
Sturgeon Point Lighthouse, near Harrisville, Michigan, Lake Huron
In August
of 1880, a wooden steamer named the Marine City caught fire
near Sturgeon Point. She was carrying 121 passengers and a cargo of
shingles. Several tugboats in the area
converged to help the Sturgeon Point Life Saving crew save 101 of the
passengers on board. On the grounds
you can see the rudder retrieved from the wreckage of the Marine City.
Braddock Point Lighthouse, Hilton, New York, Lake Ontario
Built of brick,
the ornate 110-foot tower, attached two-and-a-half story Victorian keepers'
quarters and carriage house were completed in 1896. The Cleveland Lighthouse
was torn down in 1895 and its lens, lantern and ornate metalwork were added
to Braddock Point, giving it a highly-detailed gallery, lantern room and
scrolled bracket supports. Cleveland's third-and-a-half order Fresnel lens
was installed and illuminated the same year, making it one of the brightest
lights on Lake Ontario. In 1954, the U.S. Coast Guard decommissioned the
light, removed the optic and dismantled the upper two-thrids of the tower
due to heavy damage sustained over the years from storms, harsh winters and
later, vandalism.
"In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness".
John 1:4, 5
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