| Saginaw River Rear Range Light | |
| Location | Bangor Township, Bay County, Michigan |
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| Coordinates | |
| Year first lit | 1876[1] |
| Deactivated | 1960[2] |
| Foundation | Timber piles/concrete/steel sheeting |
| Construction | Cream City Brick covered with concrete |
| Tower shape | Square tapered |
| Markings / pattern | white/black trim |
| Height | Tower - 59 feet (18 m)[3] |
| Focal height | Focal Plane - 77 feet (23 m)[4][5][6] |
| Original lens | 4th order Fresnel lens[7] |
| Range | 8.5 miles (13.7 km) |
| ARLHS number | USA-917[8][9] |
| USCG number | |
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Saginaw River Light Station
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| Location: | Coast Guard St., Bay City, Michigan |
| Area: | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built: | 1876 |
| Architect: | Major Godfrey Weitzel |
| Governing body: | Dow Chemical; Saginaw River Marine Historical Society[5] |
| MPS: | U.S. Coast Guard Lighthouses and Light Stations on the Great Lakes TR |
| NRHP Reference#: | 84001373[10] |
| Added to NRHP: | July 19, 1984 |
The Saginaw Bay Lighthouse was first erected in September 1831. During this time period, a large quantity of lumber was being exported from the heart of Michigan to the eastern coast of the United States (traveling through the Erie Canal.)
In 1867, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers arrived to dredge out the Saginaw River channel so that larger vessels could navigate the river. When they were finished, the light was no longer well-positioned to allow boats navigation of the entrance. Funding requests, negotiations for land, and contractual issues delayed work until 1876, when a pair of lighthouses could be erected in a range light configuration.
The front range light was constructed on a square timber crib beside the western river bank, and took the form of a 34 ft (10 m) tall painted-white pyramid framework of timber similar in design to that being used for pierhead beacons throughout the district at the time. With its upper half sheathed, a small enclosed room was thus created beneath the gallery for the storage of oil and supplies, and in which the keeper could seek shelter while tending the light during inclement weather conditions. The gallery was surrounded with an iron safety railing and capped with a prefabricated octagonal cast iron lantern. Seated atop a cast iron pedestal within the lantern, the light's sparkling new fixed white sixth order Fresnel lens sat at a focal plane of 37 ft (11 m), sending its light 8½ nautical miles (16 km) out into the bay.[11]
The rear range light was constructed 2,300 feet (700 m) south of the mouth of the river. Eleventh district engineer Major Godfrey Weitzel's design for the combined rear range tower and dwelling was unique. Consisting of a large elevated concrete base supporting a combined brick dwelling and tower, the swampy ground in the chosen site first required the driving of timber piles deep into the ground to provide a solid foundation on which timber forms for the concrete base could be erected and filled. Atop this concrete foundation, a square two-story Cream City brick Lighthouse keeper's dwelling 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m) in plan was constructed. Integrated into the northwest corner of the dwelling, a tapered 53 ft (16 m) tall square tower with double walls housed a set of prefabricated cast iron spiral stairs. Winding from the cellar to the lantern, these stairs also serve as the only means of access to the first and second floors by way of landings on each floor, each outfitted with tightly fitting arch-topped iron doors designed to stem the spread of fire between floors. A timber deck supported by timber columns encircled the dwelling at the first floor level, providing easy and dry access to all sides of the structure. The living quarters consisted of a kitchen, parlor and oil storage room on the first floor, and three bedrooms above. The tower was capped with a square iron gallery, supported by five cast iron corbels on each of its four sides. An octagonal cast iron lantern was installed at its center, with a fixed white fourth order Fresnel lens placed at a focal plane of 61 feet.[11]
The range lights were converted to electricity in 1915.[12]
The light stayed active, and the residence for the Coast Guard facility until the 1970s when the Coast Guard Station was moved across the river in order to have more space. The station stayed empty until 1986 when Dow Chemical Company,[13] which owned the surrounding land, purchased the facility and boarded it up. In 1999, the Saginaw River Maritime Historical Society (SRMHS) asked Dow if they could work together. At the current time, the property is not generally available, but renovation is being done by the SRMHS.
It is generally believed (but not well documented) that the Saginaw River lighthouse was the first place where range lights were installed. More details are available in the article on Lighthouses.
In 2002, the Saginaw Valley Marine Historical Society "acquired a historic locomotive-style range lens of the type used in the lighthouse between 1930 and 1960."[14]
This lighthouse is listed in the National Register of Historic Places: Reference #84001373 Name of Listing: SAGINAW RIVER LIGHT STATION (U.S. COAST GUARD/GREAT LAKES TR)[15] Restoration efforts are being conducted by: Saginaw River Marine Historical Society, Dept. W, P.O. Box 2051, Bay City, Michigan 48707-2051.[16]
It is located on west of the Saginaw River about 2/3 mile (1.1 km) south of Saginaw Bay, north of Bay City. The site is unergoing renovation and is closed to the public.[17]
According to US Government publication, "The American Practical Navigator", Chapter 5: Range lights are light pairs that indicate a specific line of position when they are in line. The higher rear light is placed behind the front light. When the mariner sees the lights vertically in line, he is on the range line. If the front light appears left of the rear light, the observer is to the right of the range line; if the front appears to the right of the rear, the observer is left of the range line.[1]
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