Grand Island North Light

Grand Island North Light Station

Location	Munising, Michigan
Coordinates	46°33′32″N 86°41′28″W / 46.55889°N 86.69111°W / 46.55889; -86.69111Coordinates: 46°33′32″N 86°41′28″W / 46.55889°N 86.69111°W / 46.55889; -86.69111
Year first constructed	1867
Year first lit	1867[1]
Automated	1941[2]
Deactivated	1961
Construction	brick
Tower shape	square[3]
Height	205 feet (62 m) focal plane[4]
Original lens	Fourth-order Fresnel lens
USCG number
Grand Island North Light Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Nearest city	Munising, Michigan
Area	29 acres (12 ha)
NRHP Reference #	85002149[5]
Added to NRHP	September 12, 1985

The Grand Island North Light Station (also known as the Old North Light)^[2] is a lighthouse located on the north end of Grand Island near Munising, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.^[5]

History

With the planned opening of the Soo Locks in 1855, it was anticipated that shipping traffic in Lake Superior would dramatically increase.^[1] Thus, in 1853, Congress appropriated money to locate a lighthouse on the northern end of Grand Island. A site atop a 175-foot (53 m) cliff was chosen for the light, and construction commenced in 1856 on the first lighthouse located here; the light was put into service with a fourth-order Fresnel lens later that year.^[1] However, due to the poor quality of materials used in construction, the condition of the building deteriorated rapidly, and by 1865 the light was judged to be in "wretched condition."^[1] A replacement was recommended, and Congress appropriated more money the following year.

In 1867, the second Grand Island North Light Station was built. This was before the founding of nearby Munising, or indeed the before the establishment of the surrounding county of Alger.^[2] The light house was built of brick, using standard plans provided by the U.S. Lighthouse Establishment. The lens was transferred from the old tower, and the light was put into service the same year.^[1]

A keeper and an assistant were stationed at the lighthouse; over the years a few minor changes were made to the boathouse location and associated stairs. In 1941, the lamp was automated and the station was boarded up and abandoned.^[1] In 1961, a 12-volt electrical system was installed on a pole near the cliff, the earlier light was decommissioned, and the Fresnel lens removed.^[1]

The station, now surplus, was sold to Loren Graham.^[1] Restoration work was done in 1972 - 1973.^[2] The lighthouse and associated buildings are currently used as a private summer home.^[2]

Description

The Grand Island North Light Station is a two-story building constructed of brick in a rectangular plan. A three-story, 40-foot (12 m) light tower and a one-story kitchen addition are attached to the station. The station has a tin-covered gable roof supported by queen-post trusses. The exterior is painted in the original colors of yellow, white, and black, and the station as a whole looks substantially as it did when built. The tower once housed a fourth-order Fresnal lens.^[2]

Four other buildings are located on the site: a tool shed, fuel storage shed, and outhouse (all made of brick); and a wooden well-house.^[2]

See also

• Lighthouses in the United States

References

Lighthouses in Michigan
Northern Upper Peninsula	Au Sable Big Bay Point Copper Harbor Copper Harbor Front Range Crisp Point Eagle Harbor Eagle Harbor Range Lights Eagle River Fourteen Mile Point Grand Island East Channel Grand Island Harbor Rear Range Grand Island North Grand Marais Range Lights Granite Island Gull Rock Huron Island Isle Royale Manitou Island Marquette Breakwater Outer Marquette Harbor Mendota (Bete Grise) Munising Front Range Munising Rear Range Ontonagon Ontonagon Harbor West Breakwater Portage River (Jacobsville) Passage Island Rock Harbor Rock of Ages Sand Hills Sand Point Light (Baraga) St. Martin Island Stannard Rock Thunder Bay Island Whitefish Point
Southern Upper Peninsula	DeTour Reef Lansing Shoals Manistique East Breakwater Martin Reef Menominee Pier Minneapolis Shoal Naubinway Island Peninsula Point Poverty Island Sand Point Seul Choix Squaw Island St. Martin Island
St. Mary's River	Frying Pan Island Pipe Island Point Iroquois Round Island Light (St. Mary's River) Six Mile Point Range Rear Winter Point Range Front
Portage River/Ship Canal	Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Keweenaw Waterway Upper Entrance Portage Lake Rouleau Point Range Front and Rear Lights
Straits of Mackinac	Bois Blanc McGulpin Point Old Mackinac Point Round Island Round Island Passage St. Helena Island
Western Lower Peninsula	Beaver Island Harbor Beaver Island Head Big Sable Point Cedar River Charlevoix Charlevoix South Pier Frankfort Frankfort South Range Grand Haven North Pierhead Grand Haven South Pierhead Entrance Grand Haven South Pierhead Inner Grand Traverse Grays Reef Holland Harbor Ile Aux Galets Little Sable Point Little Traverse Ludington Manistee Pierhead Manning Memorial Mission Point Mission Point (1933) Muskegon Breakwater Muskegon Pier North Manitou Shoal Pentwater North Pierhead Pentwater South Pierhead Point Betsie Portage Lake South Fox Island South Haven South Manitou Island St. Joseph North Pier Inner St. Joseph North Pier Outer South Manitou Island Waugoshance White River White Shoal
Eastern Lower Peninsula	Alpena Caseville Harbor Charity Island Cheboygan Crib Cheboygan River Front Range DeTour Reef Detroit River Fort Gratiot Forty Mile Point Fourteen Foot Shoal Gibraltar Gravelly Shoal Harbor Beach Lake St. Clair Mariners Memorial Middle Island Miller Memorial New Presque Isle Old Presque Isle Peche Island Rear Range Poe Reef Pointe aux Barques Port Austin Port Sanilac Saginaw Bay Saginaw River Rear Range Spectacle Reef St. Clair Flats Front and Rear Range Light Sturgeon Point Tawas Point Thunder Bay Island Tri-Centennial Light of Detroit William Livingstone Memorial Windmill Point
Historical (lost) lights	Au Sable North Pierhead Belle Isle Clinton River Ecorse Ecorse Range Rear Gibraltar Grassy Island Grassy Island North Channel Range Lights Grassy Island South Channel Range Lights Grosse Ile North Channel Range Lights Grosse Ile South Channel Range Lights Harwood Point East Range Front Kalamazoo River Mama Juda Mama Juda Range Front Manistee Main Middle Lake George Monroe Pier New Buffalo North Manitou Island Saginaw Bay Sand Beach North Entrance East Squaw Point St. Mary's River Lower Range Front Vidal Shoals Channel Range Front and Rear Lights Windmill Point Range Front and Rear Lights
Related	Lightship Huron List of lifesaving stations in Michigan