Big Sable Point Light

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Big Sable Point Light

Big Sable Point lighthouse
Location: Ludington, Michigan
Coordinates
WGS-84 (GPS)		 44°03′27.8″N, 86°30′52″W
Year first lit: 1867
Automated: 1968
Foundation: Wood pilings
Construction: Cream City brick encased in iron plate
Tower shape: Conical
Markings/Pattern: White and black tower/Black parapet & Lantern
Height: Tower - 107 feet (33 m)[1][2]
Elevation: Focal plane - 106 feet (32 m)
Original lens: Third order Fresnel lens
Current lens: 300 mm Tidelands signal acrylic optic[3]
Range: 15 miles
Characteristic: White, Flashing

The Big Sable Point Light is a lighthouse on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan near Ludington in Mason County, Michigan, at the Ludington State Park.[4]

On July 28, 1866, Congress appropriated $35,000 for a new lighthouse at Big sable Point. Approximately 933 acres was deeded from the State of Michigan to the US at no cost and early 1867 construction began. [5]

Built in 1867, the 112 foot tower was originally a yellow cream brick conical cast iron tower painted white with the middle third black. It has a focal plane of 106 feet. The building was made of so-called Cream City Brick.[6]

Because the brick deteriorated from exposure to the elements, a steel plate encasement was installed in 1900 for the cost of $3,225. [7] The yellow brick now encased in steel plate was difficult to see and a Daymark was needed. Several changes to the daymark over the years were made, currently the tower is painted white with a black watch tower and a black band around the middle of the tower.

[8] The original lens was a third order Fresnel lens,[9] inscribed "Sautter & Co., Constructeurs." It was removed in 1985, and is now on display at the Rose Hawley Museum at White Pine Village.[10] The lighthouse follows a design first used at New Presque Isle Light, and which was also used on several other lights on the Great Lakes.

In 1986, the lighthouse station was leased to the Foundation for Behavioral Research. The foundation has worked with the Big Sable Lighthouse Association to preserve the buildings.

Lighthouse keepers were: Alonzo Hyde, Sr. (1867-1871), Newton Bird (1871-1873), Burr Caswell (1874-1882), Hans Hansen (1882-1887), James Rich (1887-1888), Tomas Bailey (1889-1893), George Blake (1899—1903), Samuel Gagnon (1905-1923), Joseph Kimmers (1922-1923), Leweilyn Vanatter (1923-1936), George Rogan (1936-1949), David Sauers (1949-1954), Henry Vavrina (1955-1965), Homer Meverden (1965-1968).[11]

In the middle of the 20th Century, 1949, Big Sable was electrified. It was the last Great Lakes light to give up wicks. This paved the way for automation and the elimination of the Lighthouse keeper's job.[12]

The fog horn, which was steam and is now diesel, is in place and used in demonstrations.[13]

Buildings at the lightstation included the tower and dwelling, fog signal building, boat house, barn, three oil houses, two privy's and a Diaphone fog signal. [14]

Listed as Big Sable Point Light Station in the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 as reference #83004296. It is also on the state inventory list.[15]

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. [16]

Contents

[edit] Current status

The lighthouse is located in the Ludington State Park, so a vehicle permit is required and a fee collected. It is under the care of the Sable Point Lightkeepers Association, which was formed in 1986. The organization has been instrumental in restoring the light and associated buildings.[17] A volunteer keeper program makes is possible for volunteers to live and work in the lighthouse for two week periods. There is a waiting list to do this. Tours are available, and events do occur (a calendar is available). Among them are scheduled bus tours on specfied weekends. Otherwise, access requires a 1.5 mile walk up the beach.[18]

[edit] Bibliography and further reading

[edit] External links

Vintage image of the station
Vintage image of the station

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Terry Pepper, database on heights and focal planes.
  2. ^ But see, Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Big Sable Point Light which claims the tower is 112 feet (34 m).
  3. ^ Tidelands Signal acrylic optic, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.
  4. ^ Ludington State Park.
  5. ^ Thomas A. Tag (1997) Big Sable Point Light Station, p.6. ISBN 0-9649980-3-3
  6. ^ Cream City Brick, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.
  7. ^ Thomas A. Tag (1997) Big Sable Point Light Station, p.23. ISBN 0-9649980-3-3
  8. ^ Hyde, Charles K., The Northern Lights (Wayne State University Press, 1987) pp. 118, 121.
  9. ^ See Third Order Fresnel lens, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.
  10. ^ Wobser, David and Edin Colt, boatnerd.com, Big Sable Point Light.
  11. ^ U.S. Coast Guard's complete list of Michigan lights.
  12. ^ Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Big Sable Light.
  13. ^ Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association.
  14. ^ Thomas A. Tag, Big Sable Point Light Station, Softcover (Dayton, OH: Data Image, 1997) p. 36
  15. ^ Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Big Sable Point Light.
  16. ^ Michigan Historical Marker.
  17. ^ Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association.
  18. ^ Big Sable Point Light official site.

[edit] See also

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