Forty Mile Point Light

Lighthouse in Michigan, United States

Lighthouse

Forty Mile Point Light

Forty Mile Point Light

Location| Rogers Township, Michigan
Coordinates| 45°29′12″N 83°54′48″W﻿ / ﻿45.48667°N 83.91333°W﻿ / 45.48667; -83.91333
Tower
Constructed| 1896
Foundation| Limestone
Construction| Brick
Automated| 1969
Height| 52 feet (16 m)
Shape| Square
Markings| white w/black lantern
Heritage| National Register of Historic Places listed place, Michigan state historic site
Light
First lit| 1897
Focal height| 66 feet (20 m)
Lens| Fourth order Fresnel lens
Range| 16 nautical miles (30 km; 18 mi)
Characteristic| white 3 second flash every 6 seconds.[1]

Forty Mile Point Light

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Michigan State Historic Site

NRHP reference No.| 84001830[2]
Added to NRHP| July 19, 1984

Forty Mile Point Light is a lighthouse in Presque Isle County near Hammond Bay on the western shore of Lake Huron in Rogers Township, Michigan USA.

Unlike many Great Lakes lighthouses, Forty Mile Point Light does not mark a significant harbor or river mouth. Rather, it was constructed with the intent that as one sailed from Mackinaw Point to the Saint Clair River, one would never be out of viewing range of a lighthouse.[3] The light is named because it is on 40 mile Point which is 40 miles (64 km) sailing distance from Old Mackinaw Point.

It is part of U.S. Coast Guard District No. 9.[4]

## History

[edit]

Vintage image of the station

While the Presque Isle Peninsula had been lighted since 1840, and the entrance to the Cheboygan River fifty miles to the north had been lighted since 1851, the New Presque Isle Light's range of visibility of 17 nautical miles; 31 kilometres (19 mi) and the Spectacle Reef Lighthouse, exhibited the light for the first time on June 1, 1874 had a visible range of 16 nautical miles; 29 kilometres (18 mi) left an unlighted 8.7-nautical-mile; 16-kilometre (10 mi) intervening stretch of coastline along which mariners had to navigate blind. In its annual report for the fiscal year 1890, the board recommended that $25,000 be appropriated for the construction of a new light and fog signal at Forty Mile Point near Hammond's Bay, at the approximate midpoint between the two lights.[5]

Congress was unimpressed with the request and it was five years before it was approved and funded. The plan for this light is nearly identical to the one for the 14 Mile Point (Built in 1894 and the Big Bay Point Lighthouse( Built in 1896) both on Lake Superior . The penury of Congress concerning light stations on the Great Lakes was not limited to Forty Mile Point.[6]

The footings are wood pilings, and the structure is 35 by 57 feet (11 m × 17 m) made of red brick, the walls being made with 3 courses of brick, a 2" dead air space and one more course of brick. The integrated tower is 12 feet (3.7 m) square and 52 feet (16 m) high. The house contains two identical apartments (One for the keeper and one for the assistant keeper).

The light was completed in November 1896, but traffic on the Great Lakes is not a year-round event, so it wasn't until the spring (April 1) of 1897 that it was first lit. The station was automated in 1969 and is still operational. Markings are white with a black lantern. The original lens was a fourth order Fresnel lens /freɪˈnɛl/[7] designed and manufactured by Sauttier And Co. in Paris. It had six bulls-eye flash panels, and the clockwork would rotate it so that it would emit a white flash every ten seconds. This lens was transferred to the new Sand Hills Lighthouse near Eagle River on Lake Superior in 1919 [8] The lens now in place is the second lens to occupy that position. It is a unique lens in that it was made up of parts from at least 3 different lenses. One panel was made by Henry-Lepaute of Paris in 1872. This new lens was a fixed lens with an internal rotating shield mechanism to make a characteristic of 15 seconds on and 15 seconds off. The current characteristic is 3 sec on 3 sec off. This is the last working classic lens on Lake Huron.[9]

## Current operations, maintenance, viewing and events

[edit]

During the Big Blow of 1905, twenty-seven wooden vessels were lost. The steamer Joseph S. Fay ran aground, and a part of its hull rests on the beach approximately 200 feet (61 m) north of the lighthouse. There is a Michigan historical marker honoring Forty Mile Light, there is a marker concerning the "Graveyard of Ships".[10] The marker states:

* Registered Historical Marker Site L2186 was erected 2007 Forty Mile Point Lighthouse / Graveyard of Ships. The Graveyard of Ships marker states:
* Named by seventeenth century French explorers La Mer Douce the sweet or freshwater sea, Lake Huron is the second largest of the five Great Lakes. It has over 3,800 miles (6,100 km) of shoreline and contains 30,000 islands, among them Manitoulin, the world's largest freshwater island. Violent storms on the "sweet sea" have made it dangerous for ships. As of 2006, 1,200 wrecks had been recorded. During the Big Blow of 1905, twenty-seven wooden vessels were lost. One of these, the steamer Joseph S. Fay, ran aground. A portion of its hull rests on the beach approximately 200 feet north of the Forty Mile Lighthouse. The Great Storm of 1913 was responsible for sinking many modern ships.[11]

The site is now a county park (well-marked) 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Rogers City on  US 23, a/k/a the Sunrise Side Coastal Highway. A map with the lights in the area is available at lighthousesRus. The park is accessible from the highway—do not turn on to 40 Mile Point road.[12]

The lighthouse anchors one end of a 7-mile (11 km) bike path, the Huron Sunrise Trail, that is near and sometimes in the right of way along US 23, and runs by Hoeft State Park and to Rogers City. The bike trail was completed in late May 2009.[13]

The lighthouse is owned by Presque Isle County and the museum and gift shop are operated by the 40 Mile Point Lighthouse Society. The park grounds are open to the public year-round from 8.00 AM to sundown. The lighthouse is open for tours from the Friday before Memorial Day through mid October. Tour hours are Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. More information may be obtained from the Forty Mile Point Lighthouse Society at (989) 734-4907. or https://fortymilepointlighthouse.org

Foghorn signal building

Importantly, the many structures that were part of the installation remain: lighthouse; Lighthouse keeper quarters; barn (bunkhouse)(renovated in 2006-2007 as the gift shop),[14] foghorn signal building (the diaphone has been removed), oil house, and brick outhouse. The surrounding park also houses the wheelhouse of the first Calcite freighter.[15]

The fourth order Fresnel lens is in place and in use, and access to the tower provides a view of it and the Lakeshore.[16] The Fresnel lens is still operative, being one of only 70 such lenses that remain operational in the United States, less than sixteen of which are use on the Great Lakes of which less than eight are in Michigan.[17]

There are many recurrent events at the lighthouse. A calendar is available. Half of the lighthouse is now a museum, the other half is caretaker's quarters. Membership of the 40-Mile Point Lighthouse Society is $20.00 per year.[12]

## Access

[edit]

* U.S. Route 23
* Huron Sunrise Trail[18]

## See also

[edit]

* Lighthouses in the United States

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.
2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
3. ^ Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses.
4. ^ National Park Service, Maritime Heritage Project, 40 Mile Point Light.
5. ^ Terry Pepper, Seeing The Light - Forty Mile Point Lighthouse
6. ^ See, e.g., Port Sanilac lighthouse
7. ^ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Michigan". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
8. ^ Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light - Forty Mile Point Light
9. ^ Lens, Forty Mile Lighthouse Society.
10. ^ "Michigan Historical Markers". Archived from the original on July 17, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
11. ^ "Michigan Historical Markers". Archived from the original on July 17, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
12. ^ a b Forty Mile Point Lighthouse Society.
13. ^ Modrzynski, Mike, Work begins on trail, March 23, 2009, Alpena News.
14. ^ Bunkhouse photograph, Forty Mile Lighthouse Society.
15. ^ Wobser, David, "Forty Mile Point Light" Archived 2008-05-17 at the Wayback Machine, Boatnerd
16. ^ Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light - Forty Mile Point Light.
17. ^ United States Coast Guard, Fresnel Lenses Still in Operation. See: National Park Service Maritime Light Inventory, Grosse Point Light study which disregards Forty Mile Point, and proffers a count of four remaining lenses -- it lists them -- on the Great Lakes. Sturgeon Point Light also has a lens in place, but no longer in service and open to public view, and is not on the list. However, if may be that the article is only intending to list lights that have "their original lens in situ", and by that definition, Forty Mile Point and Sturgeon Point would not be on the list, as they have a replacement lens.
18. ^ "Huron Sunrise Trail". Rogers City. Retrieved November 27, 2020.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Bibliography on Michigan lighthouses.
* Crompton, Samuel Willard & Michael J. Rhein, The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses (2002) ISBN 1-59223-102-0; ISBN 978-1-59223-102-7.
* Hyde, Charles K., and Ann and John Mahan. The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995. ISBN 0-8143-2554-8 ISBN 9780814325544.
* Jones, Ray & Bruce Roberts, American Lighthouses (Globe Pequot, September 1, 1998, 1st Ed.) ISBN 0-7627-0324-5; ISBN 978-0-7627-0324-1.
* Jones, Ray,The Lighthouse Encyclopedia, The Definitive Reference (Globe Pequot, January 1, 2004, 1st ed.) ISBN 0-7627-2735-7; ISBN 978-0-7627-2735-3.
* Noble, Dennis, Lighthouses & Keepers: U. S. Lighthouse Service and Its Legacy (Annapolis: U. S. Naval Institute Press, 1997). ISBN 1-55750-638-8; ISBN 978-1-55750-638-2.
* Oleszewski, Wes, Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
* Penrod, John, Lighthouses of Michigan, (Berrien Center, Michigan: Penrod/Hiawatha, 1998) ISBN 978-0-942618-78-5 ISBN 9781893624238.
* Pepper, Terry. "Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes". Archived from the original on January 30, 2008.
* Putnam, George R., Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1933).
* United States Coast Guard, Aids to Navigation, (Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1945).
* Price, Scott T. "U. S. Coast Guard Aids to Navigation: A Historical Bibliography". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
* Wagner, John L. "Beacons Shining in the Night: The Lighthouses of Michigan". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University.
* Wagner, John L., Michigan Lighthouses: An Aerial Photographic Perspective, (East Lansing, Michigan: John L. Wagner, 1998) ISBN 1-880311-01-1 ISBN 9781880311011.
* Wargin, Ed, Legends of Light: A Michigan Lighthouse Portfolio (Ann Arbor Media Group, 2006). ISBN 978-1-58726-251-7.
* Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1-55046-399-3

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Forty Mile Point Light.

* Forty Mile Point Lighthouse Society.
* Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses.
* Interactive map, list, information for lighthouses in North and West Lake Huron.

* v
* t
* e

Lighthouses in Michigan

Main: List of lighthouses in the United States

Northern Upper Peninsula|

* Au Sable
* Big Bay Point
* Copper Harbor
* Copper Harbor Front Range
* Crisp Point
* Eagle Harbor
* Eagle Harbor Range Lights
* Eagle River
* Fourteen Mile Point
* Grand Island East Channel
* Grand Island Harbor Rear Range
* Grand Island North
* Grand Marais Range Lights
* Granite Island
* Gull Rock
* Huron Island
* Isle Royale
* Manitou Island
* Marquette Breakwater Outer
* Marquette Harbor
* Mendota (Bete Grise)
* Munising Front Range
* Munising Rear Range
* Ontonagon
* Ontonagon Harbor West Breakwater
* Portage River (Jacobsville)
* Passage Island
* Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light
* Rock Harbor
* Rock of Ages
* Sand Hills
* Sand Point Light (Baraga)
* St. Martin Island
* Stannard Rock
* Thunder Bay Island
* Whitefish Point

Southern Upper Peninsula|

* DeTour Reef
* Lansing Shoals
* Manistique East Breakwater
* Martin Reef
* Menominee Pier
* Minneapolis Shoal
* Naubinway Island
* Peninsula Point
* Poverty Island
* Sand Point
* Seul Choix
* Squaw Island
* St. Martin Island

St. Mary's River|

* Frying Pan Island
* Pipe Island
* Point Iroquois
* Round Island Light (St. Mary's River)
* Six Mile Point Range Rear
* Winter Point Range Front

Portage River/Ship Canal|

* Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance
* Keweenaw Waterway Upper Entrance
* Portage Lake
* Rouleau Point Range Front and Rear Lights

Straits of Mackinac|

* Bois Blanc
* McGulpin Point
* Old Mackinac Point
* Round Island
* Round Island Passage
* St. Helena Island
* Wawatam

Western Lower Peninsula|

* Beaver Island Harbor
* Beaver Island Head
* Big Sable Point
* Cedar River
* Charlevoix
* Charlevoix South Pier
* Frankfort
* Frankfort South Range
* Grand Haven North Pierhead
* Grand Haven South Pierhead Entrance
* Grand Haven South Pierhead Inner
* Grand Traverse
* Grays Reef
* Holland Harbor
* Ile Aux Galets
* Little Sable Point
* Little Traverse
* Ludington
* Manistee Pierhead
* Manning Memorial
* Mission Point
* Mission Point (1933)
* Muskegon Breakwater
* Muskegon Pier
* North Manitou Shoal
* Pentwater North Pierhead
* Pentwater South Pierhead
* Point Betsie
* Portage Lake
* South Fox Island
* South Haven
* South Manitou Island
* St. Joseph North Pier Inner
* St. Joseph North Pier Outer
* Waugoshance
* White River
* White Shoal

Eastern Lower Peninsula|

* Alpena
* Caseville Harbor
* Charity Island
* Cheboygan Crib
* Cheboygan River Front Range
* Detroit River
* Fort Gratiot
* Forty Mile Point
* Fourteen Foot Shoal
* Gibraltar
* Gravelly Shoal
* Harbor Beach
* Lake St. Clair
* Mariners Memorial
* Middle Island
* Miller Memorial
* New Presque Isle
* Old Presque Isle
* Peche Island Rear Range
* Poe Reef
* Pointe aux Barques
* Port Austin
* Port Sanilac
* Saginaw Bay
* Saginaw River Rear Range
* Spectacle Reef
* St. Clair Flats Front and Rear Range Light
* Sturgeon Point
* Tawas Point
* Thunder Bay Island
* Tri-Centennial Light of Detroit
* William Livingstone Memorial
* Windmill Point

Historical (lost) lights|

* Au Sable North Pierhead
* Belle Isle
* Clinton River
* Ecorse
* Ecorse Range Rear
* Gibraltar
* Grassy Island
* Grassy Island North Channel Range Lights
* Grassy Island South Channel Range Lights
* Grosse Ile North Channel Range Lights
* Grosse Ile South Channel Range Lights
* Harwood Point East Range Front
* Kalamazoo River
* Mama Juda
* Mama Juda Range Front
* Manistee Main
* Middle Lake George
* Monroe Pier
* New Buffalo
* North Manitou Island
* Saginaw Bay
* Sand Beach North Entrance East
* Squaw Point
* St. Mary's River Lower Range Front
* Vidal Shoals Channel Range Front and Rear Lights
* Windmill Point Range Front and Rear Lights

Related|

* Lightship Huron
* List of lifesaving stations in Michigan
* Wixom Lake, Musselman Island lighthouse

* v
* t
* e

National Register of Historic Places in Michigan

Lists by county|

* Alcona
* Alger
* Allegan
* Alpena
* Antrim
* Arenac
* Baraga
* Barry
* Bay
* Benzie
* Berrien
* Branch
* Calhoun
* Cass
* Charlevoix
* Cheboygan
* Chippewa
* Clare
* Clinton
* Crawford
* Delta
* Dickinson
* Eaton
* Emmet
* Genesee
* Gladwin
* Gogebic
* Grand Traverse
* Gratiot
* Hillsdale
* Houghton
* Huron
* Ingham
* Ionia
* Iosco
* Iron
* Isabella
* Jackson
* Kalamazoo
* Kalkaska
* Kent
* Keweenaw
* Lake
* Lapeer
* Leelanau
* Lenawee
* Livingston
* Luce
* Mackinac
* Macomb
* Manistee
* Marquette
* Mason
* Mecosta
* Menominee
* Midland
* Missaukee
* Monroe
* Montcalm
* Montmorency
* Muskegon
* Newaygo
* Oakland
* Oceana
* Ogemaw
* Ontonagon
* Osceola
* Oscoda
* Otsego
* Ottawa
* Presque Isle
* Roscommon
* Saginaw
* Sanilac
* Schoolcraft
* Shiawassee
* St. Clair
* St. Joseph
* Tuscola
* Van Buren
* Washtenaw
* Wayne
* Detroit
* Wexford

Other lists|

* Bridges
* Historic districts
* Houses
* Michigan State Historic Sites (listings)
* National Historic Landmarks
* Properties of religious function
* Railway stations

Authority control databases: Geographic |

* ARLHS
* MarineTraffic
* USCG: 7-11715

|

*[No.]: number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template