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Big Sable Point Light

Location	Ludington State Park Hamlin Township, Michigan
Coordinates	44°03′28″N 86°30′52″W / 44.05778°N 86.51444°W / 44.05778; -86.51444
Tower
Constructed	1867
Foundation	Wood pilings
Construction	originally Cream City brick, later encased in cast iron plate
Automated	1968
Height	112 feet (34 m)
Shape	Frustum of a Cone
Markings	White and black tower/Black parapet & Lantern
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place, Michigan state historic site
Light
First lit	1867
Focal height	106 feet (32 m)
Lens	Third order Fresnel lens (original), 12-inch (300 mm) ML-300 Tideland Signal acrylic optic (current)
Range	15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi)
Characteristic	White, fixed light. Obscured from 238° to 346°.
Big Sable Point Light Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Michigan State Historic Site
Location	Big Sable Point, Ludington, Michigan
Area	2 acres (0.81 ha)
Architect	Col. Orlando M. Poe
MPS	U.S. Coast Guard Lighthouses and Light Stations on the Great Lakes TR
NRHP reference No.	83004296
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	August 04, 1983
Designated MSHS	May 19, 1988

Big Sable Point Light is a lighthouse on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located within Ludington State Park just north of the city of Ludington. First constructed in 1867, it continues to be an active navigational aid.

History

On July 28, 1866, Congress appropriated $35,000 for a new lighthouse at Big Sable Point. Approximately 933 acres (378 ha) was deeded from the State of Michigan to the U.S. at no cost and in early 1867 construction began, making it the first light station in the area.

Built in 1867, the 112-foot (34 m) tower was originally made of yellow cream brick. It has a focal plane of 106 feet (32 m). The building was made of so-called Cream City Brick. The brick deteriorated and was thereafter covered with boiler plate in 1900.

Construction materials were brought up by ships. The first road to the site was not completed until 1933.

Because the brick deteriorated from exposure to the elements, a steel plate encasement was installed in 1900 at a cost of $3,225. The yellow brick now encased in steel plate was difficult to see and a daymark was needed. Several changes to the daymark over the years were made. Currently, the tower is painted white with a black watch tower and a black band around the middle of the tower. Despite the artist who colorized this historic post card coloring the middle third of the lighthouse red there is no evidence it has ever been any color other than black.

It was the last Great Lakes Lighthouse to get electricity and plumbing, which came in the late 1940s.

The original lens was a third order Fresnel lens, inscribed "Sautter & Co., Constructeurs." It was removed in 1985, and is now on display at the Rose Hawley Museum at White Pine Village. The lighthouse follows a design first used at New Presque Isle Light, which was also used on several other lights on the Great Lakes.

After the light was automated, the keeper's house was severely vandalized.

In 1986, the lighthouse station was leased to the Foundation for Behavioral Research. The foundation has worked with the Big Sable Lighthouse Association to preserve the buildings.

Lighthouse keepers were: Alonzo Hyde Sr. (1867–1869), Alonzo W. Hyde (1869–1871), Newton Bird (1871–1873), Burr Caswell (1874–1882), Hans Hansen (1882–1887), James Rich (1887–1888), Tomas Bailey (1889–1893), George Blake (1899–1903), Samuel Gagnon (1905–1923), Joseph Kimmers (1922–1923), Leweilyn Vanatter (1923–1936), George Rogan (1936–1949), David Sauers (1949–1954), Henry Vavrina (1955–1965), Homer Meverden (1965–1968).

In the middle of the 20th Century, 1949, Big Sable was electrified. It was the last Great Lakes light to give up wicks. This paved the way for automation and the elimination of the Lighthouse keeper's job.

The fog horn, which was steam and then diesel.

Buildings at the lightstation included the tower and dwelling, fog signal building, boat house, barn, three oil houses, two privy's and a Diaphone fog signal. The fog signal building fell into the lake due to erosion in 1943.

The site is the subject of constant erosion, so that keeping the foundation in place and the water away from undermining it has been a recurrent and expensive battle.

Listed as Big Sable Point Light Station in the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 as reference #83004296. It is also on the state inventory list.

A historical marker in front of the lighthouse reads:

Called Grande Pointe au Sable by French explorers and traders, Big Sable Point was an important landmark for mariners traveling a treacherous stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline between Big Sable Point and present-day Ludington. In 1855 twelve ships wrecked in that area. Commerce linked to the burgeoning lumber industry required Big Sable Point be suitably lighted. State Senator Charles Mears pressed the legislature to ask the federal government for a light station at Big Sable. In 1866 the U.S. Congress appropriated $35,000 for a lighthouse, which was built the following year. As the lumbering era waned, steamers carrying coal foodstuffs and tourists continued to rely on the lighthouse for navigation.

The Big Sable Point Lighthouse is one of the few Michigan lights with a tower reaching 100 feet (30 m). Completed in 1867 Big Sable's tower measured 112 feet (34 m) high. In 1900 the deteriorating brick tower was encased in steel. The keeper's dwelling, which once housed a single family, has been enlarged over the years, resulting in the present three-family residence. Indoor plumbing and heating and a diesel electric generator were added in 1953. In 1953 power lines were extended to the Point. In 1966 the tradition of light-keeping begun in 1867 by Alonzo A. Hyde and his wife Laura ended when the station was fully automated. Big Sable Point Light Station is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Current status and access

This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (August 2023)

The lighthouse was transferred to state ownership on November 1, 2002. The site manager is the Sable Points Light Keepers Association.

Take state highway M-116 north from Ludington to Lakeshore Drive. Proceed north for 6.5-mile (10.5 km) to Ludington State Park. A vehicle permit is required and a fee collected. It is under the care of the Sable Point Lightkeepers Association, which was formed in 1986. The organization has been instrumental in restoring the light and associated buildings. A volunteer keeper program makes is possible for volunteers to live and work in the lighthouse for two week periods. There is a waiting list to do this. Tours are available, and events do occur (a calendar is available).

Bus transportation is available June 24, July 13 & 29, August 12 & 26th and September 23, 2017. Buses travel from the State Park Rangers House inside the State Park to the lighthouse is from 12pm to 5pm. Round trip cost is $5.00 per adult rider and $2.00 for children 12 and under. Otherwise, access requires a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) walk up the beach or hiking trail.

Big Sable Lighthouse is open daily May 8 through November 4, 2017 from 10am to 5pm. Cost to climb the tower is $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for children 12 and under. Gift shop and video room are open to all at no charge.

See also

• Lighthouses in the United States

References

1. Pepper, Terry. "Database of Tower Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com. Archived from the original on 2000-09-18.
2. But see, Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Big Sable Point Light which claims the tower is 112 feet (34 m).
3. ^ Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Big Sable Point Light. Archived May 22, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
4. Pepper, Terry. "Database of Focal Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com. Archived from the original on 2008-08-30.
5. Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.
6. Michigan Lighthouse Fund, Big Sable Point Lighthouse. Archived 2009-01-06 at the Wayback Machine
7. ^ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Michigan". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
8. Tideland Signal acrylic optic, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.
9. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
10. State of Michigan (2009). "Big Sable Point Light Station". Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
11. Ludington State Park. Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
12. Thomas A. Tag (1997) Big Sable Point Light Station, p.6. ISBN 0-9649980-3-3
13. Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses. Detroit News.
14. ^ Cream City Brick, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light. Archived October 18, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
15. ^ Big Sable Point Light official site. Archived June 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
16. Lighthouse Central, Photographs, History, Directions and Way points for Big Sable Point Light, The Ultimate Guide to West Michigan Lighthouses by Jerry Roach (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - 2005). ISBN 0-9747977-0-7.
17. Thomas A. Tag (1997) Big Sable Point Light Station, p.23. ISBN 0-9649980-3-3
18. Hyde, Charles K., The Northern Lights (Wayne State University Press, 1987) pp. 118, 121.
19. historic post card Archived May 22, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
20. black and white Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
21. Huelse, Klaus. Historic postcard images of U.S. lighthouses, Historic Post Card View — "Point Sable Lighthouse". Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
22. ^ Harrison, Timothy. Big Sable, The Queen of the Lake. Archived June 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Lighthouse Digest (Jul 1997), pp. 1-3.
23. See Third Order Fresnel lens, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light. Archived May 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
24. Photograph, Big Sable Point Light Third Order Fresnel Lens, Rose Hawley Museum Archived June 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine at Lighthouse Friends.
25. Wobser, David and Edin Colt, boatnerd.com, Big Sable Point Light. Archived September 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
26. ^ Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association. Archived October 8, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
27. Thomas A. Tag, Big Sable Point Light Station, Softcover (Dayton, OH: Data Image, 1997) p. 36
28. ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Western Lower Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
29. Michigan Historical Marker. Archived February 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
30. ^ Lighthouse friends article, Big Sable Point. Archived May 8, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
31. National Park Service Maritime History Project, Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Big Sable Point Lighthouse. Archived May 23, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
32. Merkel, Jim Volunteers Get Inside Look at Big Sable Archived June 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Lighthouse Digest (June, 2003).

Further reading

• Harrison, Timothy (July 1997). "Big Sable, The Queen of the Lake". Lighthouse Digest: 1–3. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
• Havighurst, Walter (1943). The Long Ships Passing: The Story of the Great Lakes. Macmillan Publishers..
• Merkel, Jim (June 2003). "Volunteers Get Inside Look at Big Sable". Lighthouse Digest. Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
• Nelson, Bruce A (Winter 2000–2001). "The History of Big Point Sable Light Station". The Beacon. 18 (4). Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association: 14–15.
• Oleszewski, Wes (1998). Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses. Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc. ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
• Rice, Mary J. (1969). Chicago: Port to the World. Follet Publishers.
• Sapulski, Wayne S (2001). Lighthouses of Lake Michigan: Past and Present (Paperback). Fowlerville: Wilderness Adventure Books. ISBN 0-923568-47-6. ISBN 978-0-923568-47-4.
• Tag, Thomas A (1997). Big Sable Point Light Station (Softcover). Dayton, OH: Data Image. ISBN 0-9649980-3-3.

External links

• Media related to Big Sable Point Lighthouse at Wikimedia Commons
• Big Sable Point Light on the World List of Lights
• Big Sable Point Lighthouse in the Ludington State Park Archived 2013-05-28 at the Wayback Machine
• Big Sable Point Light official site.
• Huelse, Klaus -- Meine Leuchtturm-Seite: Leuchttürme USA auf historischen Postkarten -- Historic postcard images of U.S. lighthouses, Historic Post Card View — "Point Sable Lighthouse".
• Interactive map of Lights in Northern Lake Michigan, mapped by Google.
• Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Big Sable Light.
• Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association.
• Satellite image of 'Big Sable Point' at Google Maps.
• U.S. Lighthouses, Big Sable Point Light.
• U.S. Coast Guard Search & Rescue Index
• Big Sable Point Lighthouse - United States Lighthouses

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

• Lighthouses completed in 1867
• Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
• Michigan State Historic Sites
• 1867 establishments in Michigan
• National Register of Historic Places in Mason County, Michigan