Beaver Island Head Light
Beaver Island Head Light
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| Beaver Island Head Light (waterside view) |
| Location |
Beaver Island, Charlevoix County, Michigan |
| Coordinates |
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| Year first lit |
1858 |
| Deactivated |
1962 |
| Foundation |
reinforced concrete |
| Construction |
brick |
| Tower shape |
cylindrical (attached Victorian lightkeeper house)[1] |
| Markings / pattern |
yellow (natural) w/grey lantern and parapet, red roof |
| Height |
Tower - 46 feet (14 m)[2] |
| Focal height |
Focal plane - 103 feet (31 m) |
| Original lens |
14 Lewis lamps and reflectors |
| Current lens |
Fourth Order Fresnel lens removed & on display |
| Range |
16 miles (26 km)[3] |
| ARLHS number |
USA-046 |
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Beaver Island Light Station
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Location within the state of Michigan
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| Location: |
East Side Drive
Peaine Township, Michigan |
| NRHP Reference#: |
78001495[4] |
| Significant dates |
| Added to NRHP: |
December 29, 1978 |
| Designated MSHS: |
April 5, 1974[5] |
The Beaver Head Light is located high on a bluff on the southern tip of Beaver Island. Boats trying to navigate North on Lake Michigan need to carefully work their way between Beaver Island and Gray's Reef.
The 46-foot (14 m) cylindrical tower was built in 1858, to replace an 1852 tower. The decagonal lantern room offers panoramic vistas of the Lake. The tower is open to the public from 8:00 a.m. though 9:00 p.m. during the summer.
In 1866, the attached yellow brick lighthouse keeper's dwelling was constructed. A frame addition was added to the keepers quarters to accommodate assistant keepers.[6]
In 1915, the 22' x 40' fog signal building was constructed. Other outbuildings on the grounds including an oil house, garage and storage building and outhouse.
A radio beacon was placed in 1962, at which time the station was decommissioned and declared surplus.[1] That same year, the original Fourth Order Fresnel lens was removed and placed in the dwelling, where it can still be seen.[6]
In 1975, the Charlevoix Public Schools purchased the site for one ($1.00) dollar. After some vandalism was incurred, in 1978 the District founded an alternative school for youth aged 16–21.[1] The school district has operated an Environmental and Vocational Educational Center in the keepers dwelling. Maintenance and restoration of the structure is part of the curriculum.[6] Beginning in 1978, recurrent summer work/study programs greatly restored the station, which was then opened as a school.[7]
In 2003, a grant was obtained to repair spalling of the exterior brick work on the fog signal building.[8] A state grant awarded two years later provided $23,000 for oil house restoration.[7]
The light station is listed on National Register of Historical Places (reference #78001495). It is also on the State List/Inventory.[1]
Notes
Further reading
- Bibliography on Michigan lighthouses.
- Crompton, Samuel Willard & Michael J. Rhein, The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses (2002) ISBN 1-59223-102-0.
- Hyde, Charles K., and Ann and John Mahan. The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995. ISBN 0-8143-2554-8
- Jones, Ray & Bruce Roberts, American Lighthouses (Globe Pequot, September 1, 1998, 1st Ed.) ISBN 0-7627-0324-5.
- Jones, Ray, The Lighthouse Encyclopedia, The Definitive Reference (Globe Pequot, January 1, 2004, 1st ed.) ISBN 0-7627-2735-7.
- Noble, Dennis, Lighthouses & Keepers: U. S. Lighthouse Service and Its Legacy (Annapolis: U. S. Naval Institute Press, 1997. ISBN 1-55750-638-8.
- 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 0-942618-78-5.
- Pepper, Terry. "Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes". http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/index.htm.
- 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).
- Scott T. Price. "U. S. Coast Guard Aids to Navigation: A Historical Bibliography". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. http://www.uscg.mil/History/weblighthouses/h_lhbib.asp.
- Wagner, John L.. "Beacons Shining in the Night: The Lighthouses of Michigan". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. http://clarke.cmich.edu/lighthouses/index.htm.
- Wagner, John L., Michigan Lighthouses: An Aerial Photographic Perspective. East Lansing, Michigan: John L. Wagner, 1998. ISBN 1-880311-01-1.
- Wright, Larry; Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia. Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006. ISBN 1-55046-399-3.
External links
- Bartels, Joyse, Beaver Island Head Light history in the Beaver Beacon, June 2, 1904.
- Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, Bibliography for Charlevoix County.
- Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses.
- Lighthouse Lighthouse Central, Photographs, History, Directions and Way points for Beaver Island Head Light, The Ultimate Guide to West Michigan Lighthouses by Jerry Roach (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - 2005). ISBN 0-9747977-0-7.
- Lighthouse Friends, Beaver Island Head Light.
- Lighthouses in the Mackinac Straits, Lighthouse Friends.
- Map of Michigan Lighthouses in PDF Format.
- Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Beaver Head Lighthouse.
- Michigan lighthouse fund, Beaver Head Light.
- National Park Service, Inventory of Historic Light Stations, Beaver Head Light.
- (PDF) Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes. Light List. United States Coast Guard. http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pdf/lightLists/LightList%20V7.pdf.
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| Northern upper peninsula |
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| Southern upper peninsula |
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| St. Mary's River |
Frying Pan Island Light • Pipe Island Light • Point Iroquois Light • Round Island Light (St. Mary's River) • Six Mile Point Range Rear Light |
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| Portage River/Ship Canal |
Keweenaw Waterway (Portage Lake) Lower Entrance • Keweenaw Waterway Upper Entrance Light • Rouleau Point Range Front and Rear Lights
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| Straits of Mackinac |
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| Western lower peninsula |
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| Eastern lower peninsula |
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| Historical (lost) lights |
Au Sable North Pierhead • Clinton River Light • Ecorse Light • Ecorse Range Rear • Gibraltar Light • Grassy Island Lighthouse • Grassy Island North Channel Range • Grassy Island South Channel Range • Grosse Isle South Channel Range • Harwood Point East Range Front (St. Mary's River) • Mama Juda Light • Mama Juda Range Front • Middle Lake George • Monroe Pier • New Buffalo • North Manitou Island • Rouleau Point Range Front and Rear • Saginaw Bay • Sand Beach North Entrance East • Squaw Point • St. Mary's River Lower Range Front • Turtle Island Light • Vidal Shoals Channel Range Front and Rear • Windmill Point Range Front and Rear • Winter Point Range Front |
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| Topics |
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| Lists by states |
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| Lists by territories |
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| Lists by associated states |
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| Other |
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- Category:National Register of Historic Places
- Portal:National Register of Historic Places
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