Beaver Island Harbor Light

Beaver Island Harbor Light
Whiskey Point (St. James Harbor, Beaver Island)
Location Beaver Island
St. James, Michigan
United States
Coordinates 45°44′34″N 85°30′31″W / 45.74278°N 85.50861°W / 45.74278; -85.50861Coordinates: 45°44′34″N 85°30′31″W / 45.74278°N 85.50861°W / 45.74278; -85.50861
Year first constructed 1856 (original tower)
1870 (current tower)
Year first lit 1870
Automated 1927
Tower shape Cylindrical
Markings / pattern White (Originally yellow) w/ black lantern
Height 41 feet (12 m)
Focal height 38 feet (12 m)[1]
Original lens Fourth Order Fresnel
Current lens Fourth Order Fresnel
Range 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi)
Characteristic

ISO Red 6 seconds

Light obscured from 127°30′ to 199°30[2]
ARLHS number USA-047
USCG number

7-17845

Beaver Island Light Station
Nearest city St. James, Michigan
Area 64.2 acres (26.0 ha)
NRHP reference # 78001495[3]
Added to NRHP December 29, 1978

Beaver Island Harbor Light (or St. James Light) is a lighthouse located in St. James, Michigan, on the northern end of Beaver Island on Lake Michigan. It has also been called "St. James Harbor Light" and "Whiskey Point Light". It is associated with a U.S. Coast Guard station, which was formerly a lifesaving station.[4] The tower is constructed of Cream City Brick.

Whiskey Point was originally named for the 1838 fur trading post that operated on the point, and for the commodity that was the post's chief item of sale. Soon afterward in the 1850s, St. James's Harbor on Beaver Island became established as a safe haven in a storm (an event quite common on Lake Michigan). The light was thus a natural extension of the emergency usage. The original light was constructed in 1856, and the light currently in use was constructed in 1870.[5]

At this time, the harbor is used by the Beaver Island ferry, so the light is still an active aid to navigation.

Notes

  1. ↑ Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, St. James Harbor Light (Beaver Island)
  2. ↑ Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.
  3. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  4. ↑ History of the Beaver Island (Whiskey Point) Lights Archived 2008-10-10 at the Wayback Machine. by the Beaver Beacon.
  5. ↑ Terry Pepper. "Seeing the Light - Beaver Island Harbor Lighthouse". Archived from the original on 2 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-13.

References

U.S. Coast Guard Archive Photo
Station without Keeper's Quarters, U.S. Coast Guard Archive Photo
  • Aerial photos, Beaver Harbor Lighthouse, marinas.com.
  • Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, Bibliography for Charlevoix County.
  • History of the Beaver Island (Whiskey Point) Lights by the Beaver Beacon.
  • Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses. Detroit News.
  • Interactive map of Lights in Northern Lake Michigan, mapped by Google.
  • Interactive map/list/information of lighthouses in northeastern Lake Michigan by LighthousesRus.
  • Lighthouse Central, Photographs, History, Directions and Way points for Beaver Island Harbor Light, The Ultimate Guide to West Michigan Lighthouses by Jerry Roach (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - 2005). ISBN 0-9747977-0-7.
  • Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Western Lower Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  • Lighthouse Friends, St. James Harbor Light (Beaver Island.)
  • Lighthouses in the Mackinac Straits, Lighthouse Friends.
  • Map of Michigan Lighthouses in PDF Format.
  • Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, St. James Harbor Light (Beaver Island).
  • Michigan lighthouse fund, Beaver Island Harbor Light.
  • National Park Service, Inventory of Historic Light Stations, St. James Light at Beaver Harbor.
  • Panoramic photo of Harbor, Light and Coast Guard Station, Beaver Island Ferry Co.
  • Terry Pepper. "Seeing the Light - Beaver Island Harbor Lighthouse". Archived from the original on 2 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  • "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Michigan". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
  • Wobser, David, St. James Harbor Light (Beaver Island) at boatnerd.com.
  • U.S. Coast Guard Search & Rescue Index
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.