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| Port Austin Lighthouse |
Port Austin Reef Light |
| Location: |
Port Austin, Michigan |
Coordinates
WGS-84 (GPS) |
44°05′N 82°59′W / 44.083, -82.983 |
| Year first lit: |
1878 |
| Automated: |
1953 |
| Foundation: |
Brick, cement, crushed stone |
| Construction: |
Brick |
| Tower shape: |
Square |
| Markings/Pattern: |
Buff square tower with attached house w/red roof.[1] |
| Height: |
60 foot tower, 76 foot focal plane |
| Original lens: |
Fourth order Fresnel lens |
| Current lens: |
Tidelands 300 mm acrylic |
| Range: |
16.5 miles (26.6 km) |
| Characteristic: |
White, every 6 seconds. |
Port Austin Lighthouse (or Port Austin Reef Light) is a lighthouse off the shore of Lake Huron, about 2.5 miles north of Port Austin, Huron County Michigan sitting on a rocky reef (shoal), which is just north of the tip of the Thumb and a real hazard to navigation. The Station was established and the light first lit in 1878, and its pier was modified in 1899. It is still operational and is automated. The Foundation materials are a pier, and the tower is constructed of yellow brick, with buff markings. It is square, 60 feet tall, with an attached keeper house. However, the focal plain is 76 feet. It originally had a Fourth Order Fresnel lens (pronounced [freɪ'nel]) by Henry Lepaute of Paris and installed in 1899. The optic was 300 MM Glass. In 1985 the lens was replaced by a 12-volt solar powered Tidelands Signal 300 mm acrylic optic,[2] which eliminated the need to maintain the submarine cable.[3][4]
The light is not open for tours.[5]
[edit] Current status and activities
In 1990, volunteers from the Port Austin Reef Light Association engaged in an "heroic effort" to oust a colony of seagulls that had taken over the building, and then screened and reroofed it. Restoration efforts continue.[6] Restoration is being conducted by Port Austin Reef Light Association, P.O. 546, Port Austin Michigan 48467 USA Attn: Lou Schillinger phone (989)-738-6555 or (989) 738-7791.[7]
[edit] External links
[edit] Bibliography and further reading
- Bibliography on Michigan lighthouses.
- Baranski, Connie. "The Port Austin Reef Lighthouse." Central Michigan University Term Paper, 1970.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1550463993
[edit] See also
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