The light station was built in 1869 by theUnited States Lighthouse Board. 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 approved 70 lights on the western Great Lakes in thirty years: 28 in the 1850s, and 21 in each of the following decades.[11][12] The location is roughly halfway between Alpena'sThunder Bay Island and the northern entry toSaginaw Bay. Importantly, this point sits atop a formidable reef that is an imminent hazard tonavigation. Moreover, the area north of Sturgeon Point and south ofAlcona, 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.[10]
It is made ofbrickmasonry on anashlarlimestone foundation.[13] The tower stands 70 feet 9 inches (21.56 m) in height, with a diameter of 16 feet (4.9 m) at the base.[1] The focal plane is listed by the Coast Guard at 69 feet (21 m), 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 oftriangulation to give them the distance to the light.[14] The adjoining, two-storyLighthouse keeper’s quarters was designed in theCape Cod style and built of the same materials.[13] 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.[15][16]
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."[19]
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."[17]
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-orderFresnel lens.
The 3½-orderFresnel lens 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.[A]
In 1939 theU.S. Lighthouse Service also merged under the control of the U.S. Coast Guard. In the same year the station was electrified and automated.[1][10]
By the 1940s, the light was fully automated, and theCoast Guard withdrew all personnel in 1941 and thereafter dismantled the life-saving station.[1] 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 activeaid to navigation to this day.[24][25]
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). Thefog horn building was torn down.[10] The brickouthouse, built in 1869, remains, however.[13]
The Life Saving station's foundation is still visible.[23]The lifesaving watch tower also was torn down.[26]
In 1982 the Alcona Historical Society leased the light and began a three-years restoration project.[25]
The keeper's house itself fell into disrepair until it was taken over by the Alcona Historical Society in 1982.
At the time of the light station's construction, the Alcona County region hosted an activecommercial fishery.Northern Michigan was also in the midst of atimber boom, during which wood products were shipped to markets over Lake Huron from nearby ports atHarrisville,Alcona, andBlack River.[20] Despite the later addition ofagricultural produce 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 bulkmineral trade, which did not stop at nearby ports.[20]
Sturgeon Point is one of over 150 past and present lighthouses in Michigan. Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state. SeeLighthouses in the United States.
During the planning stages of theThunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the Sturgeon Point Light was proposed to mark the southernmost extent of the sanctuary,[20] although the final sanctuary boundary was drawn short of the light.[31] Nevertheless, 15 historic shipwrecks have been identified with place of loss listed as "Sturgeon Point".[20] Indeed, the question of expanding the National Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve continues to be a subject of inquiry and discussion.[32]
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.[13][38]
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."[39] 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.[40] The Coast Guard reversed course after the public pressure, and after the intervention ofSenatorDebbie Stabenow and the fresnel lens and the light remained on through July 2012.[1][41]
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 theNational Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. The Alcona County Historical Society is a lessee at this time.[42]
Because of its picturesque form and location, it is often the subject of photographs, paintings,[43] drawings,[44] and even of needlepoint illustrations.[45] In fact, it is also the setting of an illustrated children's storybook.[46]
The following contact information may be of use to travelers:Sturgeon Point Lighthouse & Maritime MuseumSturgeon Point RoadHarrisville, MI 48740(989) 724-5107[1]
The lighthouse is located inSturgeon Point State Park, a Michiganstate park.
The lighthouse is maintained and operated by theAlcona Historical Society, 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.[1]
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.[1]
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.[1]
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 andAlcona.[1]
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.[47] 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. TheWhite Shoal light is the prominent design element—used by theState of Michigan as anicon to generate revenue—on itsSave Our Lights, Michigan License Plate.[48]
^"Fresnel Lenses Still in Operation"(PDF). United States Coast Guard. RetrievedAugust 6, 2012. which reports that Sturgeon Point is the larger third order lens, not the somewhat smaller (and more rare) 3½-orderSee also,"Grosse Point Light study".Maritime Light Inventory. National Park Service. RetrievedAugust 6, 2012. which disregards Sturgeon Point andBete Grise Light (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 "theiroriginal 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.
^abDistrict Lampist Inspection Journal, July 22, 1870. The Journal may be found in the National Archives in Washington.
^Pepper, Terry."3½-order Fresnel lens".Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com. Archived fromthe original on August 12, 2012. RetrievedAugust 7, 2012. which mistakenly does not list this among the Great Lakes 3½-order lights.
Bunting, Robert L.; McGreevy, Robert (Illustrator) (October 31, 2007).Into oblivion: the lives and times leading up to the final voyage of the steamship Marine City from the ghost town of Alcona, Michigan on Lake Huron, 1880 (Hardcover) (1st ed.). Oxford, Mich: Black River Trading Company, LTD.ISBN0979749204.
Harrison, Tim (editor ofLighthouse Digest and President of the American Lighthouse Foundation), (September 2009)Ghost Lights of Michigan (Rare historic images and text on Michigan's lost and obscure lighthouse, including bonus chapters on lightships and lighthouse tenders.) East Machias, Maine: Foghorn Publishing,ISBN978-0-9778293-3-0.
Oleszewski, Wes,Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998)ISBN978-0-932212-98-6.
Sapulski, Wayne S., (2001)Lighthouses of Lake Michigan: Past and Present (Paperback) (Fowlerville: Wilderness Adventure Books)ISBN978-0-923568-47-4;ISBN978-0-923568-47-4.
Splake, T. Kilgore.Superior Land Lights. Battle Creek, MI: Angst Productions, 1984.
Swenson, Helen. "Sturgeon Point Coast Guard Station."Central Michigan University Term Paper, Clarke Historical Library, 1967.
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