The Detroit News has a very well put together interactive display online of Michigan’s many lighthouses. There is a map of all of the lighthouses that line Michigan’s coast (both lower and upper peninsulas are included) and all you have to do is click on one of the icons marking a lighthouse and you will get pictures of that particular lighthouse and some facts and history as well.

To make the main photo disappear just click it. It took me a few seconds to figure out that was all you had to do to access the entire map.

The Detroit News ran an interesting article over the weekend about the state of Michigan’s lighthouses. Once a necessary navigation tool for the ships that plied the Great Lakes - now decaying in their obsolescence and abandoned by the Coast Guard.
The bottom line (as with most things these days) is the cost of maintaining [...]

Lighthouse near Grand Marais Island, Michigan, originally uploaded by Ken & Carol.

The first time I saw the East Channel Lighthouse on Grand Island was on a trip up to the Big Bay Point Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast. My wife and I were traveling through Munising on M-28 and pulled off at a scenic overlook just outside of town. At first glance through our binoculars I thought it was a church that had fallen into disrepair.

Of course common sense told me that building a church directly on the shore of Lake Superior on a remote island was too strange to be true. Upon closer inspection the light tower became more distinct and we knew that it had been a lighthouse. In October of 1908 the last keeper packed his belongings and left. It surprises me that it is standing after over 100 years of the winds and waves of Lake Superior.

In a cost saving move the lighthouse was constructed of timber with wood siding instead of the more commonly used brick or stone. The money saved in construction was probably spent ten-times over in the continuing maintenance necessary in fighting the results of Lake Superior weather. It is difficult to picture this wind-weathered lighthouse with a coat of white paint as it wore during its 40 years (1868-1908).

In 2001, work was done to reconstruct a protective crib out of wooden posts and rock. This protection will help keep the East Channel Lighthouse from deteriorating at a quick rate, but more restoration work is needed if the light is to be saved from the ravages of time and Lake Superior.

Information on the East Channel Lighthouse provided by the following:
www.shipwrecktours.com
www.terrypepper.com/Lights/superior/eastchannel/index.htm

For information regarding the restoration of the East Channel Lighthouse you might want to read this article at www.lhdigest.com.

If you want to get a good view of the East Channel Lighthouse take one of the Shipwreck Tours out of Munising. Get information on the tours at their website - www.shipwrecktours.com.

For $170 ($150 for members of the DeTour Reef Lighthouse Preservation Society), you can become the keeper of the DeTour Reef Lighthouse for three days and two nights. From Friday to late Sunday you will be in charge of keeping the lighthouse clean and helping greet tour visitors. You need to be in [...]

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse was built by German-born John Peter Schmitt and his crew in 1892. For a period of 66 years the faithful light and its keepers kept watch over the ships passing through the Straits of Mackinac. John Campbell was the last keeper when the lighthouse was closed in December 1957. The closing coincided with the completion and opening of the Mackinac Bridge in November of 1957.

The highly illuminated bridge served as a navigation tool, which rendered the light obsolete. In 1960, the property was acquired by the Mackinac State Historic Parks and operated as a maritime museum from 1972 through 1988.

As lighthouses have garnered more attention in recent years, plans to restore this venerated old beauty have arisen. The Mackinac State Historical Parks is the driving force behind raising funds for the restoration. To help with the fundraising, the Fog Signal House at the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse has been opened as a Lighthouse Museum and Gift Shop.

Funds for restoration are also being raised through tours of the lighthouse. Tours begin May 15 and run through October 8, 2006. The lighthouse always opens at 9 a.m., but the closing times range from 4 to 5 p.m. throughout the season.

Adult admission is $6 and children (ages 6-17) are $3.50. If you are staying in the Mackinaw City area for a few days you could purchase Three 1-day passes to either Fort Mackinac, Colonial Michilimackinac, Historic Mill Creek, or Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse for $20 for adults and $12.50 for children (ages 6-17).

The Lighthouse Museum Store will also be open in 2006 from May 15 – October 8 from 9 a.m. to no later than 5:30 p.m.

Here is a cool video showing a very windy day on the west side of our state at the South Haven lighthouse. I have seen a lot of photos of waves crashing over the lighthouse, but this is the first video I have viewed. Wouldn’t it be cool to be at the beach [...]