.jpg) Huron as she currently appears in Pine Grove Park | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | LV-103 |
| Builder | Consolidated Shipbuilding Co |
| Laid down | June 5, 1918 |
| Launched | May 1, 1920 |
| In service | December 22, 1920 |
| Out of service | August 25, 1970 |
| Status | Museum Ship |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 312 tons |
| Length | 97 ft (30 m) |
| Beam | 24 ft (7.3 m) |
| Draft | 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) |
| Propulsion | 175 hp steam engine (original equipment) |
| Speed | 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) |
| Crew | 11 |
Huron (lightship) | |
  | |
| Location | Port Huron, Michigan |
| Coordinates | 42°59′21″N82°25′36″W / 42.98917°N 82.42667°W /42.98917; -82.42667 |
| Built | 1918 |
| Architect | Consolidated Shipbuilding Co. |
| NRHP reference No. | 76001974 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | 12 July 1976[1] |
| Designated NHL | 20 December 1989[2] |
TheUnited States lightshipHuron (LV-103) is alightvessel that was launched in 1920. She is now amuseum ship moored in Pine Grove Park,Port Huron,St. Clair County,Michigan.[3][4]
Huron is one of many lightvessels that were moored on the waters of theGreat Lakes.[5]
In 1832 the first lightship on the Great Lakes was placed at Waugoshance Shoal.[6] That wooden light ship was theLois McLain. In 1851 she was replaced by theWaugoshance Light, which is at one of the most hazardous areas near theStraits of Mackinac,Michigan.[7]
InLake Huron,Huron was the third ship to be placed at Corsica Shoals, a station established in 1893, replacing a gas buoy that was "somewhat ineffective". Three vessels bore the designation of'Huron Lightship' from 1893 to 1970. The first wasLightship No. 61, a wooden-hulled ship, painted red with white lettering saying "Corsica Shoals" on her sides.Lightship No. 61 served from September 1893 until 1921. She was lost during the NovemberGreat Lakes Storm of 1913, which claimed at least 12 ships and over 250 lives, when she was torn from her moorings and forced onto Point Edward on the Canadian shore.[8] The grounding ofLightship No. 61 was a contributing factor in the loss of theMatthew Andrews at Corsica Shoals.[9] In any event, she was reclaimed and repaired, and remained in service until 1920, when she was retired and sold at auction.[10]
In the same storm, LightshipBuffalo (LV-82) foundered nearBuffalo inLake Erie, with the loss of six lives.[11] SeeShipwrecks of the 1913 Great Lakes storm andList of victims of the 1913 Great Lakes storm.Buffalo was salvaged and saw service with the Coast Guard until 1936.[12]
In 1921, Lightship No. 61 was replaced by Lightship No. 96, the first vessel to actually be calledHuron Lightship.[13]
In 1925, there were ten lightvessels on the Great Lakes. Fifteen years later, onlyHuron remained.[5]
A list of Great Lakes lightvessel assignments is available.[14]
Huron was built by theConsolidated Shipbuilding Company inMorris Heights, New York. Her keel was laid in 1918 and completed at a cost of $147,428. At 96.5 feet (29.4 m) long, 24 feet (7.3 m) in the beam, drawing 9.5 feet (2.9 m), and weighing 312 tons, Ship #103 was powered by a single compound reciprocating steam engine, driven by two coal-fired Scotch boilers. They put out 175 horsepower (130 kW).[15]
Commissioned in 1921 asLightship Number 103, she operated primarily in southernLake Huron nearPort Huron and the mouth of theSt. Clair River.[16]Huron spent the 1924, 1925, 1926 and 1929 seasons lightingGrays Reef. She was assigned in 1934 and 1935 seasons to theNorth Manitou Shoal. In 1935 she was transferred to the Eleventh District for one year, seeing duty as a relief ship. In 1935,Huron was repainted black with "Huron" on her sides, and transferred to Corsica Shoals, approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) north of theBlue Water Bridge (connectingPort Huron andSarnia,Ontario, Canada.)[15]
Huron was equipped with one acetylene lens lantern, 300 millimetres (12 in), a 10 in (250 mm) steam whistlefog horn, and a hand-operated bell.[16]
After 1945 asHuron, she was the only lightship that was painted black.[16]
In 1949, she was refitted to diesel power with twin six-cylinder GM 6-71 engines at theDefoe Shipbuilding Company ofWest Bay City, Michigan.[17] The cost was $168,000. After this conversion, her top speed was 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph).
On 7 May 1958, Seaman Robert Gullickson, U.S. Coast Guard, perished when a wave swamped a tender fromHuron Lightship that he was aboard. He is memorialized on the ship, as he was the only casualty during her many years of service.[18]
On August 20, 1970, she weighed her anchor the last time from Corsica Shoal. She was decommissioned at Detroit on August 25. Upon decommissioning, she was replaced by an unmanned warning buoy light. Ownership ofHuron was transferred to the City of Port Huron the following June.[15]
The following honors have been indicated:
Commissioned in 1921, theHuron began service as a relief vessel for other Great Lakes lightships. She is ninety-seven feet long, twenty-four feet in beam, and carried a crew of eleven. On clear nights her beacon could be seen for fourteen miles (23 km). After serving in northernLake Michigan, theHuron was assigned to theCorsica Shoals in 1935. These shallow waters, six miles (9.7 km) north ofPort Huron, were the scene of frequent groundings bylake freighters in the late nineteenth century. Alightship station had been established there in 1893, since the manned ships were more reliable than lighted buoys. After 1940 theHuron was the only lightship on theGreat Lakes. Retired fromCoast Guard Service in 1970, she was presented to the City of Port Huron in 1971.
— State historical marker[19]
The ship is exceptionally well-preserved, and has an operable light andfog horn still on board.[20] Her twinGeneral Motorsdiesel engines are fully operational, having been brought back to life through the efforts of volunteer mechanics.[21]Amateur radio station NM8GS named the "NMGS Radio Group" operates from her. NM8GS is a take on the original visual and radio navy call sign, NMGS, the ship held when it was in operation. She is officially designated asAmateur Radio Lighthouse Society No. USA-394.[20]
The engines suffered damage as the ship awaited transfer to state ownership. The pistons and cylinders were restored through the contributions and efforts of local companies and volunteers.[21] They powered every part of the ship, from lighting to fog horn. To keep them in working order, they are operated every thirty days.[21]
She was the last of her kind. It is the smallest surviving lightship, and is representative of the 96-foot (29 m) class.[3]
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