St. Martin Island Light

St. Martin Island Light

St. Martin Island Light USCG Archive
Location	St. Martin Island Lake Michigan
Coordinates	45°30′10″N 86°45′27″W / 45.50278°N 86.75750°W / 45.50278; -86.75750Coordinates: 45°30′10″N 86°45′27″W / 45.50278°N 86.75750°W / 45.50278; -86.75750
Year first constructed	1905
Year first lit	1905
Foundation	Granite[1]
Construction	Steel exoskeleton[1]
Markings / pattern	white with black lantern[1]
Height	75 ft (23 m)[2]
Focal height	81 feet (25 m)[3]
Original lens	occulting 4th Order Fresnel illuminated by a 24,000 candlepower incandescent oil vapor lamp. Rotating red and white flash panels.[4]
Current lens	7.5-inch (190 mm) Tideland Signal acrylic lens[5]
Range	18 nautical miles (33 km; 21 mi)[6]
Characteristic	Al W R 10s: W fl 5s ec.; R fl 5s ec. Light visible from 135° to 355°, dark sector covering island.[6]
ARLHS number	USA-802[7][8]
USCG number	7-21450
St. Martin Island Light Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Michigan State Historic Site
Nearest city	Fairport, Michigan
Area	2 acres (0.81 ha)
Governing body	COAST GUARD
MPS	U.S. Coast Guard Lighthouses and Light Stations on the Great Lakes TR
NRHP Reference #	84001387[9]
Added to NRHP	July 19, 1984

St. Martin Island Light is a unique exoskeleton lighthouse that marks one of four passages between Lake Michigan and the bay of Green Bay.^[10] Constructed in 1905, this light tower is the only example in the United States of a pure exoskeletal tower on the Great Lakes. Similar designs do exist in Canada, however.^[11] Painted white, the hexagonal tower is made of iron plates which are supported by six exterior steel posts that have latticed buttresses.^[4][12]

The cream city brick lightkeeper's house was modeled after that used for the Plum Island Range Lights.^[4]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 19, 1984, Reference #84001387 as St. Martin Light Station (U.S. Coast Guard/ Great Lakes TR). It is not on the state list/inventory.^[13] A steam fog signal was also installed.^[14] which was thereafter replaced by a diaphone.^[4]

The lighthouse keeper's dwelling has been abandoned and "is in poor condition."^[12]

The light station is closed to the public. It is managed by in partnership with the Little Traverse Bay Band of the Odawa Indian Nation.^[11][15]

References

External links

• Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses, which fails to list St. Martin Island Light.
• Interactive map of Lights in Northern Lake Michigan, mapped by Google.
• Map of Michigan Lighthouse in PDF Format.
• Map of lighthouses in western Lake Michigan.

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