The Grand Island Harbor Range lights

In order to guide mariners through the western entry into Munising Bay, the Lighthouse Board erected a pair of range lights on the mainland east of Bay Furnace in 1868. Known as the “Grand Island Harbor Range", the front range structure took the form of a 19 foot tall octagonal timber tower similar to this little structure erected at Eagle Harbor almost a decade later.

The Front Range structure of the Grand Island Harbor Range was identical to this one built at Eagle Harbor.

 Between 1865 and 1877 a number of identical range light stations were established around the western Great Lakes. Among others, such stations were established at Copper Harbor and Eagle Harbor on Lake Superior; Baileys Harbor on Lake Michigan and at Presque Isle on Lake Huron. In all cases but the Grand Island Harbor Range, the rear range structure consisted of a small timber frame keepers dwelling with a lantern atop its roof, of which this photo of the Baileys Harbor rear range structure is typical.

Most Rear Range structures on the western lakes were identical to this structure at Baileys Harbor on Lake Michigan  

Because of the lay of the land, the rear range light at the Grand Island Harbor Range needed to be taller than those at any of its sister stations, and rather than design a new structure from scratch, the existing plan was modified to include a taller tower and gallery. The second floor of the dwelling was also modified with dormers to provide additional living space within the roof. These modifications combined to create a noticeably more substantial structure, as shown below.

The Rear Range structure at Grand Island showing its more substantial tower and lantern

With advancements in acetylene technology and the adoption of the Sun Valve through which a light could be automatically switched on before dusk and off after dawn, it was decided to automate the Grand Island Harbor Range in 1913. Then 46 years old, the decision was made to replace the old wooden buildings with newer structures requiring less maintenance. The front range was replaced by a 26 foot skeletal iron tower with an integral acetylene storage building in its base, and the rear structure was replaced by a 64 foot tall conical steel and iron tower. This structure is still standing as shown here.

The iron and steel tower added during automation of the range in 1913

 Rather than demolishing the old Grand Island Harbor rear range structure, the decision was made to offer the building for sale, with the stipulation that it be removed from the property. The old lighthouse was thus sold, its tower and lantern removed and the entire building was moved approximately 3 ½ miles to downtown Munising, where it was placed on a new foundation and modified to serve as a private dwelling. The structure still serves as a private home at the corner of West Superior and Oak Street. While it heritage is lost to most people who pass by the building, its proud heritage is still very recognizable, as can be readily seen in the recent photo below.

The old Grand Island Range rear light as it appears in its second life today

 With changing commercial maritime traffic patterns and navigational capability, it was determined that the Grand Island Harbor Range was no longer necessary. In 1969, the light was extinguished in the rear tower, with the light on the skeleton iron tower of the former front range left illuminated, and renamed “The Bay Furnace Directional Light” This structure was itself replaced by a cylindrical “D9” tower in the mid 1980's.

The old steel and iron rear range structure still stands today behind the functioning Bay Furnace Directional Light, and while it has been erroneously referred to as the “Christmas Light,” the “End of the road rear Range” and the “Bay Furnace Rear Range Light” by various sources, you now know its true heritage. It is the old rear light tower of the Grand Island Harbor Range.

The Bay Furnace Directional light to the right & the unlighted 1913 Grand Island Rear Range to the left as seen from the water

If you take the time to walk down to the water's edge, the old concrete steps and foundation of the 1913 skeleton iron tower can still be seen in front of the D9. A closer look shows remnants of the old tower legs protruding from the concrete where they were severed with a gas torch.

This foundation is all that remains of the old 1913 skeletal iron front range light

The easy way to move heavy batteries

When the Coast Guard had two huge wet cell batteries to install at the Huron Island light station in 2006, the National Guard's offer to transport them to the island by Helicopter was doubtless welcome news. It eliminated the need to lug them up the 3/4 mile long trail from the boathouse to the lighthouse which sits atop a 150 foot cliff at the center of the island.

The Helos heading toward the lighthouse

One Helo prepares to lower the batteries

The batteries dropped, the Helos head back to the mainland

The heavy batteries in place within the dwelling

Without the help of the Helos,the crew would have had to carry the batteries up these steps, but one of the many
obstacles encountered along the trail from the dock to the lighthouse.

Rediscovering the Manistee Main Light

The original Manistee lighthouse was lighted for the first time on the opening of navigation in 1870. A year later, a huge fire swept through the endless forest burning virtually the entire town and the lighthouse. A new lighthouse was built in 1873, and appears below in a photograph taken in 1900.

The 1973 Manistee Main Light as it appeared in 1900

This real photo postcard of the the Manistee River postmarked 1906 shows the location of the Main Light in relationship to the piers and the fog signal built on the outer end of the north pier in 1893.

A Real Photo postcard of the Manistee River showing the location of the lighthouse on the north bank

No longer necessary as an aid to navigation the Manistee Main light was sold at public auction. This photograph from the August 30, 1962 edition of the Manistee News Advocate shows the old lighthouse raised on cribs in preparation for loading on a trailer for relocation to its new home in town.

A photo of the lighthouse raised on cribs in preparation for the big move in 1962

The old Manistee Main lighthouse after its relocation to the corner of West Melitzer Street and Third Avenue in 1982. At this time, the heritage of the old structure was still readily recognizable.

The Manistee Main light in 1982

 The old Manistee Main light house as it appears today. While modernized to the point that its heritage is barely recognizable, it is good to know that this slice of Great Lakes history was saved and can still still be found for those who know of its existence.

The old Manistee Main Light as it appears today

A New Life for Spectacle Reef

This article was written by Peter Blanken, and was first published in the Winter 2009 issue of The GLLKA BEACON.

 

The Great Lakes affect several aspects of our daily lives, including weather and climate, transportation, agriculture, the economy, health, recreation, etc. Although it can be quite hard to imagine landscape with the Lakes appearing much different than they do today, the Lakes are geologically very young, and are dynamic.

A chart of northern Lake Huron showing the location of Spectacle Reef light station

Changes in water temperature, chemistry, ice cover, lake ecology and lake levels do occur at various time scales and for various reasons. Superimposed on natural ecological and geological changes are additional factors such as population growth, and of recent concern is how lake water levels are affected by current and projected climate change.

Cake & Ice Cream crew took turns manning the vessel as she lied at anchor off the light

The Lake’s water levels are affected by numerous factors across various time scales. Large-scale, relative slow processes include the continued uplift of the Great Lake Basin after removal of the Laurentide Ice Sheet beginning 14,000 and ending 4,000 years ago; smaller-scale, relatively fast processes include the Lakes’ annual water budget. Each of the Great Lakes has a topographically-defined drainage basin that defines the catchment area where any precipitation that falls drains into the lake through rivers and streams. Other than the shear volume of melt water from the Laurentide Ice Sheet that created the Lakes, precipitation is the only contemporary source of water to the Lakes. Outputs, or losses of water from the Lakes are increasingly numerous, and include runoff from one lake to another (ultimately leaving the Basin through the St. Lawrence River & Chicago River), withdrawals for residential, agricultural, and industrial use, and evaporation; with the balance of inputs versus outputs determining the lakes’ water levels.

After landing on the crib, entry into the lighthouse tower itself is made up this double flight of stairs in the fog signal building

The purpose of our trip to the Spectacle Reef Lighthouse was to directly measure one component of Lake Huron’s water balance, evaporation, and to determine the physical processes regulating evaporation to help understand how the lake’s water levels may change with predicted climate change scenarios. Understandably, other than several ice-free season buoy and ship-based observations, there are few meteorological observations made directly on the Lakes, and no direct measurements of evaporation. Our measurements of evaporation are based on high-frequency wind and water vapor density measurements, and require a high, stable platform that is free from the splash of waves and especially the winter ice. A tall, stable structure located far from shore, the Spectacle Reef Lighthouse is an ideal measurement location.

Chris Spence pulls equipment up from the dinghy, which made numerous trips back and forth between the light and the boat

The instruments required for this research are delicate and complex, with each having demanding calibration and power requirements. In total, we are measuring nearly 200 variables, some at a rate of 10 times per second. Making sure the instruments work properly, and planning for how to install the instruments on a 135 year-old structure that you’ve never been to before is a huge challenge. Added to the challenge is the limited amount of time you have at the site, no AC power, no knowledge of the condition or type of structures on which to mount the instruments, and the requirement that everything must be removable without any structural damage to the lighthouse (no drilling holes) and the navigation aspects must not be interfered with.

Newell Hedstom works on the lantern roof, while Peter Blanken and Pakorn Petchprayoon seek ways to route the wiring

After securing funds for this project from the International Joint Commission, the instruments were tested in my laboratory. Then, with the approval of the State of Michigan’s Historic Preservation Office and the US Coast Guard, Kevin Robinson (US Coast Guard) suggested I contact Terry Pepper. Terry was instrumental in arranging local logistical support and travel to and from Spectacle Reef on the boat Cake & Ice Cream captained by Dick Moehl.  The history and old drawings and photographs of Spectacle Reef provided by Terry and Dick, helped my planning for several scenarios for mounting the instruments and solar panels. Every possible size of u-bolt and hose clamp, along with several crates of instruments were shipped from the Department of Geography and the University of Colorado, Boulder, to the GLLKA office in Mackinaw City. Along with my graduate student Pakorn Petchprayoon from Thailand, and Chris Spence and Newell Hedstrom from Environment Canada, Saskatoon, we all boarded planes and arrived in Cheboygan, MI on September 21, 2009 to install the instruments.

While paint is peeling badly, the lighthouse appears to be in good condition after being untended for almost 25 years

Although we planned for one long day at the lighthouse, I scheduled one full week for the installation, to allow for weather or other unforeseen delays (the forecast was for rain and wind for the entire week). The four of us spent our first day visiting every hardware store in town buying more u-bolts, hose clamps, plywood, pipe, batteries, tools, etc. We had a half-dozen contingency plans for ways to secure instruments and solar panels 85 feet above the water to endure the harsh conditions far offshore on Lake Huron.

We met with Terry and Dick at the Cheboygan Marina, and began loading the boat with supplies. The weather was cooperating, and the next day looked promising for the trip. After meeting for an early breakfast, and a final check on the forecast, Dick decided that today was the day (Tuesday September 22, 2009), so along with crewmembers Terry Pepper, Mark Siegman and John Wagner, we boarded the boat and left the Cheboygan Marina at 7 am. 

Peter Blanken (left) Mark Siegman (center) and Pakorn Petchprayoon (right) insert the mast into its flange on a custom cut plywood base on the narrow lantern gallery

Some light fog and clouds and calm seas greeted us as we sailed past the historic Cheboygan River Front Range, Fourteen Foot Shoal and Poe Reef Lighthouses. After 2 hours, Spectacle Reef was in-sight, under clearing skies and increasing winds. The shallow water and 2-3 foot waves required us to use a Zodiac to reach the Lighthouse. Chris and I made the first trip to unlock the door and assess the condition of the lighthouse while the others began shuttling our instruments and equipment from the boat via the Zodiac to the lighthouse. Although suffering from thick peeling paint, the lighthouse was in remarkably good, clean shape. This made the long transfer of instruments, tools, and equipment from Cake & Ice Cream  to the Zodiac,  20-ft to the top of the crib deck, pulled by rope, and then up 8 flights of tight, narrowing spiral staircases to the top of the lighthouse. 

The room immediately below the service room contains some incredibly beautiful hand-cut stone molding

Newell quickly scrambled across the top of the lighthouse to determine the best way to secure the instruments, and after some discussion, we had a plan: two sections of threaded galvanized pipe resting on the upper deck (bolted to plywood), secured with u-bolts, metal strapping, and aircraft cable for guys, would get the instruments clear of the top of the ventilation ball. Newell and I went to work on this, while Pakorn and Chris mounted the solar panels to an existing panel support, and Terry and John Wagner photographed and documented each and every crevice of the lighthouse. 

Peter makes some final programming adjustments to the monitoring equipment

After a very pleasant lunch provided by Terry, everyone continued working non-stop, and soon the sun was beginning to set. Thanks to all the planning efforts and solid, hard work from everyone, we finished the final wiring and programming of the data logger at around 6 pm. 

One last look up at the monitoring equipment before we return to CAKE & ICE CREAM and head for the Cheboygan River

We cleaned-up, and started transferring crates back to the Cake & Ice Cream as Spectacle Reef’s red light began to flash, likely one of the few times in recent years when people were on the site when that happens. Having been engrossed in our work all day, it suddenly became clear to us just how high the waves had become through the day. 

The Unique Fresnel lens at Little Sable Point

Shown below, the light at Little Sable Point on Lake Michigan exhibited a characteristic of fixed white with a flash of five seconds duration shown every 30 seconds. While a fixed white light with a flash was a commonplace characteristic, the way in which the flash was created at Little Sable was unique on the Great Lakes, and perhaps throughout the entire US lighthouse system. 

 

As shown below, in virtually all lenses which exhibited a fixed light with a flash, the central dioptric belt was equipped with bull’s eyes. Powered by a clockwork mechanism, the entire lens rotated around the lamp, with the light intensified and focused significantly as each bull’s eye passed between the light and the observer. Shown here, the lens from the North Point light station in Milwaukee is typical of such a fixed/flashing lens. Because the bull’s eyes were located in the central dioptric belt, such a flash would appear to an observer to emanate from the center of the fixed white light. 

 

This illustration shows the unique lens and pedestal assembly from Little Sable Point lighthouse. Shown in the center, the central dioptric belt and the lower catadioptric prisms were fixed to the pedestal and did not rotate. Only the upper catadioptric section of the lens rotated suspended on the upper end of long brackets. A large ring gear around the bottom of these brackets was turned by a gear on the clockwork. Since each section of the upper catadioptric array was made up of radial prisms, a flash was exhibited as each section reflected and refracted out toward the observer. As such, the flash at Little Sable would have appeared to emanate from immediately above the fixed white light, as opposed to from its center. 

 

This view of the lens at Little Sable below clearly how the upper catadioptric array was separate from the central dioptric belt, and the vertical arms from which it was both supported and rotated from the pedestal below. Next time you visit Little Sable, take the time to check out this lens a little more closely – it may well be the only one of its type you will ever see.

Lighthouse privies

As shown in this 1904 photo, the privy at the St. Clair Flats Rear Range light was erected so that the entire structure hung in brackets over the edge of the crib. At least it afforded a better view when lifting the lid than most privies!

The privy at the St. Clair Flats Rear Range light in Lake St. Clair

The two-and-a-half hole privy at the Copper Harbor Main light on Lake Superior - one for the keeper, one for the assistant, and one for the kids!

Interior of the privy at the Copper Harbor Main light on Lake Superior

 Possibly the most beautiful privy on the Great Lakes at the Grand Island lighthouse - locally known as the "North Light."

The beautiful privy at the Grand Island light station on Lake Superior

 We couldn't resist - another privy shot - this one of a privy overhanging the wharf at the Milwaukee Lighthouse Depot in 1913.

Privy at the Lighthouse Depot overhanging the Kinnickinnic River in Milwaukee