The Sturgeon Point Light Station is 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 ...

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 ...

in Haynes Township, Alcona County, northeastern lower Michigan. Established to ward mariners off a

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 ...

that extends lakeward from Sturgeon Point, it is today regarded as a historic example of a

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

style

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

lighthouse.

History

The light station was built in 1869 by the

United States Lighthouse Board The United States Lighthouse Board was the second agency of the U.S. federal government, under the Department of Treasury, responsible for the construction and maintenance of all lighthouses and navigation aids in the United States, between 18 ...

. 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 A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

approved 70 lights on the western Great Lakes in thirty years: 28 in the 1850s, and 21 in each of the following decades. The location is roughly halfway between Alpena's

Thunder Bay Island Thunder Bay Island is a island in Lake Huron. The island is one of eight constituent islands of the Michigan Islands National Wildlife Refuge. The island is part of Alpena Township in Alpena County. It marks the entrance to Thunder Bay, the h ...

and the northern entry to

Saginaw Bay Saginaw Bay is a bay within Lake Huron located on the eastern side of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms the space between Michigan's Thumb region and the rest of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Saginaw Bay is in area. It is located in part ...

. Importantly, this point sits atop a formidable reef that is an imminent hazard 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, ...

. 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 A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

on an

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

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 In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points. Applications In surveying Specifically in surveying, triangulation involves only angle me ...

to give them the distance to the light. The adjoining, two-story

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 quarters was designed in the

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 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 was upgraded to a 3½-order lens (that was originally installed at

Oswego, New York Oswego () is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in Upstate New York, about 35 miles (55km) northwest of Syracuse. It promotes itself as "The Port C ...

). 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 Eagle is the common name for many large Bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Ou ...

, Grays Reef, Huron Island,

Michigan Island Michigan Island is one of the Apostle Islands located in western Lake Superior, off the Bayfield Peninsula, in northern Wisconsin. This island has no human inhabitants, and is managed by the National Park Service as part of the Apostle Islands Nati ...

, St. Helena Island, and Toledo Harbor. 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." 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

. The 3½-order

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 The Mendota Light, also known as the Bete Grise light, was built on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan to facilitate travel between Lake Superior and Lac La Belle (an artificial canal having been made to connect the two). History The original ...

(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 The United States Life-Saving ServiceDespite the lack of hyphen in its insignia, the agency itself is hyphenated in government documents including: and was a United States government agency that grew out of private and local humanitarian effort ...

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 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, mul ...

. 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 A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

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 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 ...

to this day.Thunderbay National Marine Sanctuary, Sturgeon Point Light.
/ref> 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 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 torn down. The 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 ...

, built in 1869, remains, however. The Life Saving station's foundation is still visible. The lifesaving watch tower also was torn down. 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

Sturgeon Point Light - Michigan - ca1900

*At the time of the light station's construction, the Alcona County region hosted an active

commercial fishery Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

Northern Michigan Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan (known colloquially to residents of more southerly parts of the state and summer residents from cities such as Detroit as " Up North"), is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. A popul ...

was also in the midst of a

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

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 Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

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 In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...

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 This is a list of lighthouses in the United States. The United States has had approximately a thousand lights as well as light towers, range lights, and pier head lights. Michigan has the most lights of any state with over 150 past and present l ...

. *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. McGean and the Isaac M. Scott. See also,

Shipwrecks of the 1913 Great Lakes storm This is a list of shipwrecks during the Great Lakes Storm of 1913. Vessels gallery File:Leafield before the 1913 Great Lakes storm.png, "Leafield" File:Henry B Smith LOC det 4a16048.jpg, "Henry B Smith" File:Argus before 1913 Great Lakes st ...

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 Harbor Beach is a city in Huron County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,703 at the 2010 census. History The earliest settlers to this area arrived in 1837 and established a sawmill for processing lumber. The settlement event ...

, which is on the east side of Michigan's

Thumb The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb ...

. The Scott was first discovered in 1976, and is lying on the bottom about northeast of

Contemporary status

Ownership was transferred from the Coast Guard to the

Michigan Department of Natural Resources The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor a ...

under the terms of 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 ...

, 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 Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve is a United States National Marine Sanctuary on Lake Huron's Thunder Bay (Michigan), Thunder Bay, within the Northern Michigan, northeastern region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It pr ...

, 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. Although 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 ...

continues to operate the light, the property has been transferred to the

under the terms of the

. The transfer from the Department of the interior was effective May 2005. 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 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 1984. Sturgeon Point, on which the lighthouse is built, is a Michigan Scenic Site overseen by the

. It is listed as part of the National Maritime Heritage Program with the National Park Service. The station structure is also listed as a state historic site in February 1982. 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.
/ref> 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. The Coast Guard reversed course after the public pressure, and after the intervention of

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 ...

Debbie Stabenow Deborah Ann Stabenow ( ; née Greer, born April 29, 1950) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Michigan, a seat she has held since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she became the state's first female ...

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

. The Alcona County Historical Society is a lessee at this time. Because of its picturesque form and location, it is often the subject of photographs, paintings, drawings, and even of needlepoint illustrations. In fact, it is also the setting of an illustrated children's storybook. The site supports

sea grasses The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

in many forms,

goldenrod Goldenrod is a common name for many species of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, commonly in reference to the genus ''Solidago''. Several genera, such as ''Euthamia'', were formerly included in a broader concept of the genus ...

, Queen-Anne's lace,

yarrow ''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Other common names include old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, and thousand seal. The ...

, and wild strawberry.

Gulls Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...

cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...

killdeer The killdeer (''Charadrius vociferus'') is a large plover found in the Americas. It was described and given its current scientific name in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Three subspecies are described. T ...

loons Loons ( North American English) or divers (British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family Gaviidae and order ...

are frequent visitors, along with

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

s that make their home on the bay. The following contact information may be of use to travelers: Sturgeon Point Lighthouse & Maritime Museum Sturgeon Point Road Harrisville, MI 48740 (989) 724-5107

Current events at the lighthouse and museum

* The lighthouse is located in Sturgeon Point State Park, a Michigan

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

. * The lighthouse is maintained and operated by the

Alcona Historical Society Alcona may refer to: *Alcona, Ontario Alcona is a railway point and settlement in the town of Sioux Lookout, Kenora District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It has a passing track, and is on the abandoned Graham Subdivision main line of th ...

, a private organization that funds the maintenance and operation with few public funds. The Society is in the process of raising contributions to renovate and paint the lighthouse. * The tower is regularly open during the summer for climbing by the public (for a small fee to cover insurance costs). The museum is open to the public, and is supported by donations. * On the grounds is the Old Bailey School, a 1907

One-room school One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and s ...

house, which was moved there from Mikado, Michigan in 1998. * A strawberry social is held at the Bailey School on the last Sunday of June (adjacent to the lighthouse) to raise funds for the Alcona Historical Society. * The annual Sturgeon Point Light Station Sanctuary Bay sail boat race, which also has a local picnic, is also a fundraiser for the Alcona County Historical Society. It is regularly held on the first Saturday in August, and is a handicapped race for day sailors of all classes. The course is two times around a triangular 6 mile (9.2 kilometer) course in Sanctuary Bay, the area between Sturgeon Point Light and Alcona. * Michigan is the only state that supports lighthouse preservation with a program that includes annual grants from the state to local preservation groups. Consequently, there are many organizations and their volunteers working hard to save and restore lighthouses. The Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy is a state preservation society, and the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association is based in the state. The Alcona County Historical Society is in the process of collecting $70,000.00 for renovation (particularly brick work and painting) of its light, half of which is being funded by the state of Michigan. The White Shoal light is the prominent design element—used by the

State of Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

as an

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

to generate revenue—on it
''Save Our Lights'', Michigan License Plate.
re

/ref>

Footnotes

References

External links

Aerial photos, Sturgeon Point Light, marinas.com.

Alcona Historical Society/Sturgeon Point Light Station website

{{authority control 1869 establishments in Michigan Lighthouses completed in 1869 History museums in Michigan Houses completed in 1869 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Lighthouse museums in Michigan Museums in Alcona County, Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites National Register of Historic Places in Alcona County, Michigan Protected areas of Alcona County, Michigan Saginaw Bay