The Beaver Head Light is located high on a bluff on the southern tip of Beaver Island. Boats trying to navigate North on Lake Michigan need to carefully work their way between Beaver Island and Gray's Reef. The cylindrical tower was built in 1858, to replace an 1852 tower. The decagonal lantern room offers panoramic vistas of the Lake. The tower is open to the public from 8:00 a.m. though 9:00 p.m. during the summer. In 1866, the attached yellow brick

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 ...

's dwelling was constructed. A frame addition was added to the keepers quarters to accommodate assistant keepers.Wobser, David, Beaver Head (Beaver Island) Light at boatnerd.com.
/ref> In 1915, 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 constructed. Other outbuildings on the grounds including an oil house, garage and storage building and

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 (non-flushing) toilets may be encountered. The term may also be used ...

. A radio beacon was placed in 1962, at which time the station was decommissioned and declared surplus. That same year, the original Fourth 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 ...

was removed and placed in the dwelling, where it can still be seen. In 1975, the

Charlevoix Charlevoix ( , ) is a cultural and natural region in Quebec, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River as well as in the Laurentian Mountains area of the Canadian Shield. This dramatic landscape includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlands ...

Public Schools purchased the site for $1.00. After some vandalism was incurred, in 1978 the District founded an alternative school for youth aged 16–21. The school district has operated an Environmental and Vocational Educational Center in the keepers dwelling. Maintenance and restoration of the structure is part of the curriculum. Beginning in 1978, recurrent summer work/study programs greatly restored the station, which was then opened as a school. In 2003, a grant was obtained to repair spalling of the exterior brick work on the

building. A state grant awarded two years later provided $23,000 for oil house restoration. The light station is listed on

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 ...

(reference #78001495). It is also on the State List/Inventory.

Notes

Bibliography on Michigan lighthouses.
* Crompton, Samuel Willard & Michael J. Rhein, ''The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses'' (2002) . * Hyde, Charles K., and Ann and John Mahan. ''The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes''. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995. * Jones, Ray & Bruce Roberts, ''American Lighthouses'' (Globe Pequot, September 1, 1998, 1st Ed.) . * Jones, Ray, ''The Lighthouse Encyclopedia, The Definitive Reference'' (Globe Pequot, January 1, 2004, 1st ed.) . * Noble, Dennis, ''Lighthouses & Keepers: U. S. Lighthouse Service and Its Legacy'' (Annapolis: U. S. Naval Institute Press, 1997. . * Oleszewski, Wes, ''Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses''. Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998. . * Penrod, John, ''Lighthouses of Michigan'' (Berrien Center, Michigan: Penrod/Hiawatha, 1998) . * * Putnam, George R., ''Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1933). * United States Coast Guard, ''Aids to Navigation'', (Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1945). * * * Wagner, John L., ''Michigan Lighthouses: An Aerial Photographic Perspective''. East Lansing, Michigan: John L. Wagner, 1998. . * Wright, Larry; Wright, Patricia, ''Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia''. Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006. . *

External links

Bartels, Joyse, Beaver Island Head Light history
in the Beaver Beacon, June 2, 1904

* ttp://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080520/SPECIAL01/80519001 Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1852 Lighthouses completed in 1858 Buildings and structures in Charlevoix County, Michigan Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites in Charlevoix County Education in Charlevoix County, Michigan 1852 establishments in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Charlevoix County, Michigan

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links