Au Sable Light (June 2021) from Log Slide overlook

Au Sable Light is an active

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

in the

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a U.S. National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States. It extends for 42 miles (67 km) along the shore of Lake Superior and covers . The park has extensive views of the hilly sho ...

west of

Grand Marais, Michigan Grand Marais ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Alger County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located within Burt Township on the shores of Lake Superior, and the community is the eastern gateway to the ...

off H-58. Until 1910, this

aid to navigation In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

was called "Big Sable Light" (not to be confused with

Big Sable Point Light The Big Sable Point Light is a lighthouse on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan near Ludington in Mason County, Michigan, at the Ludington State Park. It is an active aid to navigation.

National Park Service Maritime History Project, Inventory of Historic Light Stations, Au Sable Light.
/ref> near

Ludington, Michigan Ludington ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Mason County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,076. Ludington is a harbor town located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Pere Marquette Rive ...

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

or Little Sable Point Light south of

Pentwater, Michigan Pentwater is a village in Oceana County, Michigan, Oceana County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 857 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The village is located within Pentwater Township, Michigan, Pentwater Township. P ...

History

The Au Sable Light Station was built in 1874 on Au Sable Point, a well known hazard on Lake Superior's "shipwreck coast". The Au Sable Point

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

is a shallow ridge of sandstone that in places is only below the surface and extends nearly into Lake Superior. The Au Sable Point reef was one of the greatest dangers facing ships coasting along the south shore of Lake Superior during the early shipping days when keeping land in sight was the main navigational method. The Au Sable Point reef was known as a "ship trap" that ensnared many ships, including the passenger ship ''Lady Elgin'' which was stranded there in 1859. The shoreline in this area is considered one of North America's most beautiful, "but in the 1800s it was considered one of the most deadly because of unpredictable features below the surface and violent storms and blinding fogs above." The reef extends nearly a mile out as a ridge of sandstone a few feet below the surface. The shallow water caught many a vessel following the shore. Turbulence was common when the lake was "pushed in by violent storms out of the north and northwest." Thick fogs resulted form the mix of frigid lake air and warmth from the sand dunes. "As early as 1622, French explorers called the region 'most dangerous when there is any storms'."Wobser, David, "Au Sable Point Light" Boatnerd.com.
Additionally, the location was chosen to eliminate a "dark spot" in the stretch between Granite Island Light and

Whitefish Point Light The Whitefish Point Light is a lighthouse located in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located on the southeastern shores of Lake Superior, it sits at the edge of Whitefish Point leading to Whitefish Bay. Constructed in 1849, it i ...

.Lighthouse Central, Au Sable Point Lighthouse, ''The Ultimate Guide to Upper Michigan Lighthouses'' by Jerry Roach
(Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC – 2007). . The lighthouse tower and attached keepers' quarters were designed by Colonel Orlando Metcalfe Poe. In this capacity he designed eight "Poe style lighthouses" and oversaw construction of several. Poe was named District Engineer for the Eleventh Lighthouse District, Those lights are

New Presque Isle Light The New Presque Isle Light was built in 1870, at Presque Isle, Michigan, east of Grand Lake, and sits on the namesake peninsula. It is one of 149 lighthouses in Michigan, more than any other state. Because of changing shoreline particularly, or ...

(1870) on

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

South Manitou Island Light South Manitou Island Lighthouse is located on South Manitou Island in Lake Michigan, west of Leland, Michigan. It is in Leelanau County in western Northern Michigan. History This is the third lighthouse built on the island. Construction of th ...

(1872), Grosse Point Light (1873) in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

's Au Sable Light (1874),

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...

's Wind Point Light (1880); Outer Island Light (1874) in the

Apostle Islands The Apostle Islands are a group of 22 islands in Lake Superior, off the Bayfield Peninsula in northern Wisconsin. The majority of the islands are located in Ashland County—only Sand, York, Eagle, and Raspberry Islands are located in Ba ...

, Little Sable Point Light (1874) on Lake Michigan,

Manistique, Michigan Manistique, formerly Monistique, is the only city and county seat of Schoolcraft County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 2,828. The city borders the adjacent Manistique Township, but the two are ...

Seul Choix Light The Seul Choix Light is a lighthouse located in the northwest corner of Lake Michigan in Schoolcraft County, Michigan. The station was established in 1892 with a temporary light, and this light started service in 1895, and was fully automated in ...

(1895) and

Spectacle Reef Light Spectacle Reef Light is a lighthouse east of the Straits of Mackinac and is located at the northern end of Lake Huron, Michigan. It was designed and built by Colonel Orlando Metcalfe Poe and Major Godfrey Weitzel, and was the most expensiv ...

. The tower is a white brick conical tower with a black lantern. A red brick lightkeeper's house stands next to the lighthouse. It originally had a third-order

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...

, which is now on display at the light station. The lighthouse was automated in 1958 and is currently equipped with a

solar-powered Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic ef ...

light. A wooden boathouse was added in 1875; the

fog signal A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. W ...

building was added in 1897; the keepers' quarters were converted to a duplex in 1909; and the steel oil house was raised in 1915. There is also a second brick Keepers house (1909), a kerosene storage shed (1895), two brick

outhouse An outhouse is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket toilet, but other forms of dry toilet, dry (non-flushing) toilets may be encountered. The term may als ...

s (1874/1909), a wooden woodshed and

boathouse A boathouse (or a boat house) is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. describing the facilities These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats ...

(1875), a brick cistern, and a two vehicle wood frame garage (1954). Most of these buildings are still extant; only one outhouse remains standing. The keeper's house was renovated. A visitor center is on the lower floor and an apartment for volunteer caretakers on the upper floor. In 1996, the original Third Order Fresnel lens was returned to the tower after 39 years on display at the Pictured Rocks Nautical and Maritime Museum, also known as the Grand Marais Maritime Museum in Grand Marais. However, it is an external 300 mm lens that is operative. The

steam whistle A steam whistle is a device used to produce sound in the form of a whistle using live steam, which creates, projects, and amplifies its sound by acting as a vibrating system (compare to train horn). Operation The whistle consists of the fo ...

and

airhorn An air horn is a pneumatic device designed to create an extremely loud noise for signaling purposes. It usually consists of a source which produces compressed air, which passes into a horn through a reed or diaphragm. The stream of air cause ...

have been removed. Nevertheless, the "boarded lantern area is an impressive sight." The lighthouse tower is open to the public in summer. The complex was maintained by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, and the automated light continues to be operated by the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

. The National Park Service's stated goal is to continue to maintain the lighthouse complex to its 1909–10 appearance, during its first year of operation as a two-person

Lighthouse keeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

station. The Light Station is part of the National Park Service's Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The Au Sable Light Station is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, #78000374. To visit this light, take Michigan H-58 Alger County

H-58 from the Hurricane River Campground, which is west of

. From the Campground the lighthouse is a walk on a sand trail.Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Au Sable Point Light
. Terrypepper.com.Anderson, Kraig, Lighthouse Friends, Au Sable LIghthouse
. Lighthousefriends.com.

References

External links

* *
Aerial photos, Au Sable Light, marinas.com.

*

ttp://www.nps.gov/piro/historyculture/ausablelightstation.htm Au Sable Point Light Station web page.
Photograph of the Au Sable Point Lighthouse and Lifesaving Station (ca. 1920), Michigan History, Arts and Libraries archive.

Satellite view, Au Sable Point Light by

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

.
Au Sable Light Station - United States Lighthouses
{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1874 Houses completed in 1874 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Alger County, Michigan Museums in Alger County, Michigan Lighthouse museums in Michigan Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Michigan State Historic Sites 1874 establishments in Michigan

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links