Because it was positioned near the busy

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting Commodity, commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it h ...

lanes of the mid-19th century, a

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 ...

was built on Granite Island in 1868 by the U.S. Lighthouse Board and commissioned in 1869. The lighthouse keeper's dwelling and the square tower attached to it are built of cut stone with white limestone decorations on the corners and windows. The 1-story dwelling shares its design with lighthouses found on Gull Rock and Huron Islands Lighthouse as well as the

Marquette Harbor Light The Marquette Harbor Light is located on Lake Superior in Marquette, Michigan, a part of the Upper Peninsula. It is an active aid to navigation.Inventory of Historic Light Stations: Michigan Lighthouses Maritime Heritage Program. Pictures before ...

. There is an existing

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, which was constructed in 1910 to replace the one originally built in 1879. It is made of structural steel and is a bell tower. The

fog bell A fog bell is a navigation mark used as an audible aid to navigation in seafaring, especially in fog and poor visibility. Floating navigation signs with bells are called bell buoys. On ships, the ship's bell is used for sound signals. Due to more s ...

was the one from the light at

Thunder Bay Island Light Thunder Bay Island Light, located on Thunder Bay Island's southeast tip, is one of the oldest operating lighthouses in Michigan. The third operating U.S. lighthouse in Lake Huron was built here in 1831, but it disintegrated almost at once and wa ...

, and was removed. in 1939. Lighthouse keepers and assistant keepers operated Granite Island Light until 1937 when the facility was automated and the living quarters were abandoned. Aids to

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

consisted of a 4th order Fresnel lens and a fog bell tower. The focal height is . At one time it had a red flash every 90 seconds.

Private ownership

Modern navigation moved shipping lanes away from the island and the light, and farther out into Lake Superior. This tended to make the Coast Guard view it as "surplus," and it was put up for private sale. The sale in fact helped precipitate a later reaction by the U.S. Congress, which enacted a preference for selling such facilities to communities and charitable organizations under the

National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 (NHLPA; Public Law 106-355; 16 U.S.C. 470w-7) is American legislation creating a process for the transfer of federally owned lighthouses into private hands. It was created as an extension o ...

of 2000, which was sponsored by Michigan

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Carl Levin Carl Milton Levin (June 28, 1934 – July 29, 2021) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Michigan from 1979 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the chair of the Senate Armed Services C ...

and passed in 2000. Nevertheless, privatization advocates such as the

Mackinac Center for Public Policy The Mackinac Center for Public Policy () in Midland, Michigan, is the largest U.S. state-based free market think tank in the United States. The Mackinac Center conducts policy research and educational programs. The Center sponsors MichiganVotes. ...

have praised the island's sale and its results. Granite Island and the lighthouse were purchased by Scott and Martine Holman in 1999 from the

U.S. 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, multi ...

. The facilities underwent a three-year restoration process. The lighthouse was listed 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 ...

in 1983.Reference #83000884

Current status

Despite its remoteness, and because of its picturesque location, form and color it is often the subject of photographs, and drawings. The Island's infrastructure is host to an Internet relay station operated by Northern Michigan University to provide live real-time classes to the rural area of Big Bay and its school system. The Holman's have donated a sophisticated weather research station to study the evaporative effects on the rise and fall of the water levels in the great Lakes. This station is operated by Northern Michigan University and the data is made available to the National Weather Service to aid in Near Shore Forecasting. The living quarters of the light station is made available to the NMU English Department for creative writing retreats. Transportation to and from the Island is provided by two "rib" Zodiacs 24' and 30' which can navigate the often rough water 12 miles south to the Marquette Lower harbor. Power on the island is remote controlled year round and consists of solar panels, wind generators with back up propane generators. Although the island is privately owned, an automated aid to navigation on a gray steel tower (with a focal plane) and a range of is maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard. Its characteristic is a white flash every 6 seconds. Granite Island Light is one of more than 150 past and present lighthouses in Michigan. Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state. See Lighthouses in the United States. The highest recorded wind speed on the island was on January 18, 2003. Best views of this light are from the water. The privately owned island and light are closed to the public.

Notes

External links

Granite Island home page (including webcams and virtual tour).

Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses
with excellent photographs by Scott Holman, Detroit News.
Interactive map of lighthouses in area ("Central" Lake Superior).

Marquette country on Granite Island light.

at

Boatnerd.com The boatnerd corporation, a registered not for profit corporation, circulates information about vessels that ply the North American Great Lakes. When Acheson Ventures provided space for a headquarters for the organization in their Maritime Center o ...

.
Fog Bell tower photograph, bell removed 1939 when light automated.
{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1868 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Marquette County, Michigan

Private ownership

Current status

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links