Charity Island Light

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Charity Island Light

Historic deteriorated Charity Island Light (before the rebuilding)
Location: Big Charity Island, Michigan
Coordinates
WGS-84 (GPS)		 44°01′53″N 83°26′08″W / 44.03139, -83.43556
Year first constructed: 1856–1857
Year first lit: 1857
Deactivated: 1939
Construction: Brick
Tower shape: Conical
Height: Tower - 39 feet (12 m)
Focal Plane - 45 feet (14 m)[1]
Original lens: Fourth order Fresnel Lens
Range: 13 miles (21 km)

Charity Island Light is a lighthouse on Big Charity Island in Lake Huron just off the coast of Au Gres, Northern Michigan.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

In 1838, the region was the source of lumber being removed from Lower Michigan via the rivers that enter the lower end of Saginaw Bay. The shoals around Charity Island were a major source of problems, posing an obstacle to lumber vessels. It was not until 1856, however, that funds were allocated to establish a light on the island.[3]

The octagonal cast iron lantern displayed a fixed white Fourth Order Fresnel lens light which was constructed in 1857[4] with a 39-foot tower which provided a 13-mile range of visibility. The Lighthouse Board was in the process of constructing a set of lights up and down the coast, and 13 miles was considered adequate both to keep boats off the island and to navigate from one light to the next.[3]

The light was fully automated in 1900.[4]

The light was abandoned since 1939 when Gravelly Shoal was lit, and it rapidly fell apart.

[edit] Present status

The Charity Island Preservation Committee of the Arenac County Historical Society is restoring the tower.[5] The original keeper's house has been razed, and a new private residence has been built in its place and on its foundation.[6] A full list of past keepers of the light is maintained for historical reference.[7]

[edit] Getting there

It is hard to get close enough to this light to see it. Lake Huron is quite shallow and rocky, and the light is too far out to see from shore. Getting a boat near it requires oars or a paddle, and considerable care.

However, tours of the island (and even dinner cruises) are commercially available.[8] They include the privately-owned and rebuilt Charity Island Light Lighthouse keeper's house and a passing view of Gravelly Shoal Light. They are available from Charity Island Transport, Inc. in Au Gres, Michigan on the mainland, south of Tawas.[9]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Seeing The Light - Charity Island Lighthouse
  2. ^ Charity Island Light, The Michigan Lighthouse Fund
  3. ^ a b Charity Island Lighthouse, Seeing The Light, Terry Pepper
  4. ^ a b Beacons in the Night, Michigan Lighthouse Chronology, Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University
  5. ^ Charity Island Preservation Committee.
  6. ^ Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Michigan Lighthouses, Maritime Heritage Program, National Park Service
  7. ^ Keepers of the Charity Island Light, Great Lakes Lighthouse Research, Phyllis Tag
  8. ^ Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses, see Charity Island Light.
  9. ^ Charity Island ferry service.

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

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