Big Sable Point Light

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**Big Sable Point Light**
2001 photo of Big Sable Point lighthouse
Location:	Ludington, Michigan
Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS)	44°03′30″N, 86°30′54″W
Foundation:	Wood pilings
Construction:	Cream City brick encased in iron plate
Year first lit:	1867
Automated:	1968
Tower shape:	Conical
Height:	112 feet
Original lens:	Third order Fresnel lens
Range:	15 miles
Characteristic:	White, Flashing

The Big Sable Point Light is a lighthouse located near Ludington in Mason County, Michigan.

Listed as Big Sable Point Light Station in the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 as reference #83004296.

A historical marker in front of the lighthouse reads:

Called Grande Pointe au Sable by French explorers and traders, Big Sable Point was an important landmark for mariners traveling a treacherous stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline between Big Sable Point and present-day Ludington. In 1855 twelve ships wrecked in that area. Commerce linked to the burgeoning lumber industry required Big Sable Point be suitably lighted. State Senator Charles Mears pressed the legislature to ask the federal government for a light station at Big Sable. In 1866 the U.S. Congress appropriated $35,000 for a lighthouse, which was built the following year. As the lumbering era waned, steamers carrying coal foodstuffs and tourists continued to rely on the lighthouse for navigation.

The Big Sable Point Lighthouse is one of the few Michigan lights with a tower reaching 100 feet. Completed in 1867 Big Sable's tower measured 112 feet high. In 1902 the deteriorating brick tower was encased in steel. The keeper's dwelling, which once housed a single family, has been enlarged over the years, resulting in the present three-family residence. Indoor plumbing and heating and a diesel electric generator were added in 1949. In 1953 power lines were extended to the Point. In 1966 the tradition of light-keeping begun in 1867 by Alonzo A. Hyde and his wife Laura ended when the station was fully automated. Big Sable Point Light Station is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. [1]