Marquette Harbor Light
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Marquette Harbor Light | |
|---|---|
 Marquette Harbor Light |
|
| Location: | Marquette, Michigan |
| Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS) |
|
| Year first constructed: | 1865 |
| Year first lit: | 1866 |
| Foundation: | Dressed stone/timber[1] |
| Construction: | Brick |
| Tower shape: | Square |
| Markings/Pattern: | red with white lantern |
| Height: | Tower - 40 feet (12 m) |
| Elevation: | Focal plane - 77 feet (23 m) |
| Original lens: | Fourth order Fresnel |
| Current lens: | Westinghouse DCB-36 Aerobeacon[2] |
| Intensity: | 703,000 candles |
| Range: | 16 Miles |
The Marquette Harbor Light is located on Lake Superior in Marquette, Michigan, a part of the Upper Peninsula.[3]
Contents |
[edit] History
To help navigation towards ore docks, Congress approved funds to built the Marquette Harbor Light in 1850. Construction took place in 1852, and first lit in June of 1853. However, the initial structure deteriorated rapidly, and funds were approved in 1865 for a replacement tower.[4]
The original lighthouse included seven 14-inch Lewis lamps, and a small detached 24 by 30 dwelling constructed of similar materials to that of the tower. In 1853, the United States Lighthouse Board was created and a major system upgrade brought on an installation of a Sixth Order French Fresnel lens in 1856. The new lens was visible up to ten miles. Because of weather conditions, installation, maintenance and operation of a foghorn was integral to the operation.[4]
The current lens is a DCB-36. Putting aside questions of nostalgia, aesthetics, or appreciation for the engineering of a bygone era (as exemplified by the Fresnel lens), this iteration of lighthouse illumination is itself incredibly effective, and an endangered remnant of another bygone era.[5]
Construction of the current structure began in 1865. The 1½-story dwelling shares its design with the lighthouses on Granite Island, Gull Rock and Huron Island. It includes a set of cast-iron spiral stairs winding from the first floor to the lantern centered on the square gallery atop the tower, a decagonal cast-iron lantern was installed, and a new fixed white Fourth Order Fresnel lens with a 190° arc of visibility was assembled atop its cast-iron pedestal. The focal plane is at 70 feet above the lake, and was visible for a distance of 16 miles in clear weather.[4][6]
In 1891, a station of the U.S. Life-Saving Service began operations on the lighthouse grounds, with the station located to the west of the lighthouse, which in 1915 became part of the U.S. Coast Guard. In 1939 the U.S. Lighthouse Service also merged under the control of the U.S. Coast Guard, placing all facilities on the grounds under the same government control. As part of the U.S. Coast Guard, the site became a training station during World War II with up to 300 recruits living in the various buildings on the facility grounds.[4][7]
In 2002, a 30 year lease was signed by the Marquette Maritime Museum, which is responsible for maintenance and control of the facility. As part of their operations, thay also make the lighthouse available for scheduled tours.[4][7] The lighthouse is open and tours are conducted from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. from May 15 through October 15.[8]
Because of its picturesque form and location, it is often the subject of photographs, drawings,[9] and even of needlepoint illustrations.[10] Built high on a bluff, it is one of the oldest buildings in Marquette.[11] It is listed in the National Register of Historical Places. It is described as the Marquette Harbor Light Station (added 1984 - Building - #84001803).[12]
Marquette Harbor Light is one of 149 lighthouses in Michigan. Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state. See Lighthouses in the United States.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Historic Light Station Information & Photography, U.S. Coast Guard
- ^ Wobser, David, "Marquette Harbor Light," Boatnerd.com
- ^ Historic Light Station Information & Photography, U.S. Coast Guard
- ^ a b c d e Pepper, Terry. Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes.
- ^ DCB-36 Aerobeacon, Stormherocs.com.
- ^ Inventory of Historic Light Stations: Michigan Lighthouses, Maritime Heritage Program
- ^ a b Marquette Maritime Museum
- ^ Wobser, David, "Marquette Harbor Light" Boatnerd.com
- ^ Mulgrew, Marilyn, Drawing of Marquette Harbor Light.
- ^ Needlepoint of Marquette Harbor Light.
- ^ The Marquette Harbor Lighthouse, MarquetteCountry.org
- ^ National Register of Historic Places
[edit] Additional reading
- Bibliography on Michigan lighthouses.
- Crompton, Samuel Willard & Michael J. Rhein, The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses (2002) ISBN 1592231020; ISBN 978-1592231027.
- Hyde, Charles K., and Ann and John Mahan. The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995. ISBN 0814325548 ISBN 9780814325544.
- Jones, Ray & Bruce Roberts, American Lighthouses (Globe Pequot, September 1, 1998, 1st Ed.) ISBN 0762703245; ISBN 978-0762703241.
- Jones, Ray,The Lighthouse Encyclopedia, The Definitive Reference (Globe Pequot, January 1, 2004, 1st ed.) ISBN 0762727357; ISBN 978-0762727353.
- LaFave, Michael (Mackinac Center), Privatization Shines (article on the general subject of privatization of lighthouses.
- Noble, Dennis, Lighthouses & Keepers: U. S. Lighthouse Service and Its Legacy (Annapolis: U. S. Naval Institute Press, 1997). ISBN 1557506388; ISBN 9781557506382.
- Oleszewski, Wes, Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
- Penrod, John, Lighthouses of Michigan, (Berrien Center, Michigan: Penrod/Hiawatha, 1998) ISBN 9780942618785 ISBN 9781893624238.
- Pepper, Terry. Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes.
- Putnam, George R., Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1933).
- Splake, T. Kilgore. Superior Land Lights. Battle Creek, MI: Angst Productions, 1984.
- Stonehouse, Frederick. Marquette Shipwrecks. Marquette, MI: Harboridge Press, 1974.
- United States Coast Guard, Aids to Navigation, (Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1945).
- United States Coast Guard, Aids to Navigation Historical Bibliography.
- Wagner, John L.. Beacons Shining in the Night: The Lighthouses of Michigan. Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University.
- Wagner, John L., Michigan Lighthouses: An Aerial Photographic Perspective, (East Lansing, Michigan: John L. Wagner, 1998) ISBN 1880311011 ISBN 9781880311011.
- Wargin, Ed, Legends of Light: A Michigan Lighthouse Portfolio (Ann Arbor Media Group, 2006). ISBN 9781587262517.
- Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1550463993.
[edit] External links
- Harbour lights on Marquette Harbor Light.
- Interactive map of lighthouses in area ("Central" Lake Superior).
- Lighthouse friends on Marquette Harbor Light.
- Marquette country on Marquette Harbor light.
- Photos of Marquette Harbor Light.
- Map of Michigan Lighthouse in PDF Format.
- United States Coast Guard's complete list of Michigan lights.
- Volume 7, US Coast Guard Lightlist (PDF).
- Wobser, David, "Marquette Harbor Light," Boatnerd.com
|
||||||||||
