The Sturgeon Point Light Station is a lighthouse on Lake Huron in Haynes Township, Alcona County, in the northeastern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Established to ward mariners off a reef that extends lakeward from Sturgeon Point, it is today regarded as a historic example of a Cape Cod style Great Lakes lighthouse.
History The light station was built in 1869 by the United States Lighthouse Board. The Board was in the midst of a lighthouse building boom on the Great Lakes due to increased maritime traffic, and in response to a large number of lost ships and men: Congress approved 70 lights on the western Great Lakes in thirty years: 28 in the 1850s, and 21 in each of the following decades.See also the chronology at The location is roughly halfway between Alpena's Thunder Bay Island and the northern entry to Saginaw Bay. Importantly, this point sits atop a formidable reef that is an imminent hazard to navigation. Moreover, the area north of Sturgeon Point and south of Alcona, Michigan is a bay that can provide shelter from northerly and southerly winds and waves. Historically, this area is locally known as "Sanctuary Bay," which is in distinct contrast to "Misery Bay", the area to the north, between Alpena and Thunder Bay Island. The Lighthouse Board further recognized that being able to navigate close to (but not over) the reef and the point would aid transport into and out of Saginaw Bay.
It is made of brick masonry on an ashlar limestone foundation. The tower stands in height, with a diameter of at the base. The focal plane is listed by the Coast Guard at , which would be the height from the "mean high water mark," That figure is important, in that it could be used by mariners to chart their location, using a method of triangulation to give them the distance to the light. The adjoining, two-story Lighthouse keeper’s quarters was designed in the Cape Cod style and built of the same materials. At the time, the Board was often using this architectural motif. In fact, Poverty Island Light, built in 1874, is considered to be a "sibling" as it is a direct copy of Sturgeon Point.
The light was set to begin its service with a sixth-order Fresnel lens which was upgraded to a 3½-order lens (that was originally installed at Oswego, New York). It was one of only a dozen used around the country, most of which were on the Great Lakes. The other Great Lakes 3½-order lenses were at (in alphabetical order): DeTour Reef (two 3½-order lenses, after the bivalve lens broke), Eagle Bluff, Grays Reef, Huron Island, Michigan Island, St. Helena Island, and Toledo Harbor. which mistakenly does not list this among the Great Lakes 3½-order lights.
The lens at Sturgeon Point is without a doubt a third-and-a-half order lens. As Terry Pepper, executive director of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keeper Association, wrote on August 6, 2012: "I have measured it personally."E-mail from Terry Pepper dated August 6, 2012
As further proof, on July 22, 1870, the District Lampist visited the Station and made the following entry in his inspection journal:
"Sturgeon Point, No. 449 – This is a new station first lighted to the opening of navigation this spring. The illuminating apparatus consists of a 3 ½ Order Fresnel lens of 270°, Henry Lepaute maker, and is fitted with Funck’s hydraulic float lamps, showing a fixed white light. The illuminating apparatus was in excellent condition with the exception of one of the spare burners which had been damaged. It was taken on board for repairs. A spirit lamp to aid in heating the oil in severe cold weather is required."District Lampist Inspection Journal, July 22, 1870. The Journal may be found in the National Archives in Washington.
However, for reasons unknown, there are conflicting reports as to the size of the present lens, with some reporting it as a third order, and orders as a 3½-order Fresnel lens.
The 3½-order Fresnel lens is still in place and was in use as of July 31, 2012. This is one of only 70 such Fresnel lenses that are still operational in the United States, sixteen of which are use on the Great Lakes, of which eight are in Michigan. which reports that Sturgeon Point is the larger third order lens, not the somewhat smaller (and more rare) 3½-order See also, which disregards Sturgeon Point and Bete Grise Light (which has its original lens), and proffers a count of "four remaining lenses" -- it lists them -- on the Great Lakes. However, it appears to may be that the article is only intending to list lights that have "their original lens in situ" "For example, on the Great Lakes, only three others besides Grosse Point have retained their Fresnel lenses in place since being installed: a fourth-order lens at Little Traverse Harbor, Michigan (1884), a third-order lens at Split Rock, Minnesota (1910), and a third-order lens at Presque Isle Light, Michigan (1871) {footnotes omitted.]" and by that definition, Sturgeon Point is not on that list, as it has a larger replacement lens. According to the Life Saving Service's District Lampist, the upgrade occurred within the first year of operation, not in 1889 as indicated by some sources.
In 1876, the light station was joined in its service by an adjacent United States Life-Saving Service station.
There is no question that the presence of this light on this highly dangerous reef has forestalled "countless accidents." ; .
In 1875, a U.S. Life-Saving Service station was opened. The first light keeper became the first captain of the surf team.
In 1915, this station became part of the U.S. Coast Guard.
In 1939 the U.S. Lighthouse Service also merged under the control of the U.S. Coast Guard. In the same year the station was electrified and automated.
By the 1940s, the light was fully automated, and the Coast Guard withdrew all personnel in 1941 and thereafter dismantled the life-saving station. One source claims (erroneously) that the lifesaving saving station and the lighthouse were "abandoned" in the 1940s; in point of fact personnel were withdrawn, but the light remains an active aid to navigation to this day. .Thunderbay National Marine Sanctuary, Sturgeon Point Light.
The lifesaving bell was stolen in 1951, and was "anonymously returned" in 2002 to the custody of the Alcona County Historical Society (according to a plaque at the light). The fog horn building was torn down. The brick outhouse, built in 1869, remains, however.
The Life Saving station's foundation is still visible. The lifesaving watch tower also was torn down.Photograph of life saving watch tower, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.
In 1982 the Alcona Historical Society leased the light and began a three-years restoration project.
The keeper's house itself fell into disrepair until it was taken over by the Alcona Historical Society in 1982.
Historic context
At the time of the light station's construction, the Alcona County region hosted an active commercial fishery. Northern Michigan was also in the midst of a timber boom, during which wood products were shipped to markets over Lake Huron from nearby ports at Harrisville, Alcona, and Black River. Despite the later addition of agricultural produce to the cargoes shipped by lake from the region, by the early 20th century the Sturgeon Point Light primarily served passing vessels engaged in the bulk mineral trade, which did not stop at nearby ports. Sturgeon Point is one of over 150 past and present lighthouses in Michigan. Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state. See Lighthouses in the United States. Robert L. Bunting's book, Into Oblivion, chronicles the 1880 sinking of the passenger steamer Marine City near the ghost town of Alcona, Michigan, on Lake Huron. This well-researched work details the disaster, local history, and life in the lumber era, featuring illustrations by maritime artist Robert McGreevy and detailed interviews with locals. Alcona and the Marine City are commemorated in Michigan historical marker L2223.Town of Alcona HMdb.org In the Big Blow of 1913, two of three ships that had the most crew lost, 28 victims each, were thereafter reported to have gone down in the area near Sturgeon Point. Those ships are the John A. McGeanThumb Shipwreck Preserve, John A. McGean. and the Isaac M. Scott. See also, Shipwrecks of the 1913 Great Lakes storm and List of victims of the 1913 Great Lakes storm. However, the better evidence suggests that the McGean is in fact due east of Harbor Beach, Michigan, which is on the east side of Michigan's Thumb.The Lakeshore Guardian :: December 2003 :: Sunken History The Scott was first discovered in 1976, and is lying on the bottom about northeast of Thunder Bay Island.
Contemporary status
Ownership was transferred from the Coast Guard to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources under the terms of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, and operations are maintained by the Alcona Historical Society. The site is part of the Sturgeon Point State Park under the auspices of the Michigan DNR.
During the planning stages of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the Sturgeon Point Light was proposed to mark the southernmost extent of the sanctuary, although the final sanctuary boundary was drawn short of the light. Nevertheless, 15 historic shipwrecks have been identified with place of loss listed as "Sturgeon Point". Indeed, the question of expanding the National Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve continues to be a subject of inquiry and discussion.Testimony by Jefferson Gray, Superintendent of Thunder Bay Marine Sanctuary concerning its expansion, May 6, 2008.
Although the United States Coast Guard continues to operate the light, the property has been transferred to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources under the terms of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. The transfer from the Department of the interior was effective May 2005.Department of Interior News Release. The Alcona Historical Society operates a museum in the restored historic buildings. The Sturgeon Point Light was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. Sturgeon Point, on which the lighthouse is built, is a Michigan Scenic Site overseen by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. It is listed as part of the National Maritime Heritage Program with the National Park Service.National Park Service Maritime Heritage Sites The station structure is also listed as a state historic site in February 1982.Sturgeon Point Light Station , Historic Sites Online, Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries
Additionally, it is on the National Register of Historic Places, Reference #84001370, Name of Listing: STURGEON POINT LIGHT STATION (U.S. COAST GUARD/GREAT LAKES TR) and is also on the state inventory, being listed in 1969.National Park Service, Inventory of historic light stations, Sturgeon Point.
In 2006, the U.S. Coast Guard sought to forever darken the light, and in fact shut it off for a short time. Resistance to the initiative developed, and over five thousand signatures were collected on petitions to "Save Our Light." Numerous public comments were submitted as part of the regulatory process. In due course, an arrangement was made whereby the light was left on (albeit with its operating expenses to be paid by the Alcona County Historical Society) and it was designated as an official "seasonal private aid to navigation." from April 1 through November 1.Archive of LNM announcements District 9, week 1/2009, (file lnm09012009.pdf) The Coast Guard reversed course after the public pressure, and after the intervention of Senator Debbie Stabenow and the fresnel lens and the light remained on through July 2012.
A transfer of ownership of the light itself, from the Coast Guard to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, is still languishing as of 2012 under the terms of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. The Alcona County Historical Society is a lessee at this time.