Port Sanilac Light
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Port Sanilac Light | |
|---|---|
 Port Sanilac Lighthouse |
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| Location: | Port Sanilac, Michigan |
| Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS) |
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| Year first lit: | 1886 |
| Automated: | 1928 |
| Construction: | Brick |
| Tower shape: | Octagon-hourglass |
| Markings/Pattern: | White with red roof |
| Height: | Tower - 59 feet (18 m) |
| Elevation: | Focal plane - 69 feet (21 m)[1] |
| Original lens: | Fourth order Fresnel lens |
| Range: | 13 miles (21 km)[2] |
PORT SANILAC LIGHT is a United States Coast Guard lighthouse located on Point Sanilac, near Port Sanilac on the eastern side of Michigan's Thumb. It was established and first lit in 1886. It is operational and automated. This Lake Huron lighthouse is less than 30 miles away from the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse (Michigan's oldest) in Port Huron, Michigan. The foundation consists of dressed stone and timber. The octagon-hourglass-shaped tower (near its top) is made of tiered and reverse stair-stepped brick. It is white with a red roof. Inside is housed a fourth order Fresnel lens (pronounced [freɪ'nel])[3] manufactured by Barbier and Fenestre of Paris. The lens and its brass reflector on one segment (the reflector blocked the lens on the landward side) send the light out in a 300 degree arc across the lake. Its focal plane is 69 feet sends light visible for up to 13 miles. The light sits atop high ground at the head of a small bay. The placement and the unique shape were dictated by and created because of budgetary constraints (Congress appropriated only half the money requested). Designed by Eleventh District Engineer Captain Charles E. L. B. Davis, the design has been called "both unique and architecturally significant in its elegance."[4] Port Sanilac Light Station — Lake St. is a registered historic landmark, being added in August 19, 1984. The lighthouse is private property, access around it is prohibited. Viewing from the parking lot is very good. You can also walk down toward the beach and breakwater to get a good view of the lighthouse and harbor.
In addition to the Lighthouse keeper's residence, three other structures on the site are the brick oil house, wooden outhouse and wooden covered well.[5]
Because of its unique and picturesque form and location, it is often the subject of photographs, and even of needlepoint illustrations.[6] Drawings have also been produced.[7]
Contents |
[edit] References
- ^ Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Table of Lighthouse focal planes.
- ^ Seeing The Light - Port Sanilac Lighthouse
- ^ Coast Guard information and photographs of Port Sanilac light.
- ^ Port Sanilac Lighthouse at Seeing the Light by Terry Pepper.
- ^ Wobser, David, Boatnerd.com Port Sanilac Light.
- ^ Needlepoint of Port Sanilac Light.
- ^ Mulgrew, Marilyn, Drawing of Port Sanilac Light.
[edit] External links
- Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses.
- Interactive map of lighthouses in area.
- Interactive map, list, information for lighthouses in North and West Lake Huron.
- Michigan.gov website has a Map of Michigan Lighthouses.
- Port Sanilac Lighthouse at Seeing the Light by Terry Pepper.
- National Park Service, Inventory of Lights, Port Sanilac light.
- Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy
- Michigan Lighthouse project, Port Sanilac
- United States Coast Guard's complete list of Michigan lights including information and photographs of Port Sanilac light.
- Volume 7, US Coast Guard Lightlist (PDF).
- U.S. Lighthouses, Port Sanilac Light.
- Wobser, David, Boatnerd.com Port Sanilac Light.
[edit] Bibliography and further 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.
- 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.
- Stonehouse, Frederick. Marquette Shipwrecks. Marquette, MI: Harboridge Press, 1974.
- 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.
- 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] See also
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