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Whitefish Point Light

Whitefish Point Light in July 2018
Location	Whitefish Point Whitefish Township, Michigan
Coordinates	46°46′14″N 84°57′24″W / 46.77056°N 84.95667°W / 46.77056; -84.95667
Tower
Foundation	Pier
Construction	Steel
Automated	1971
Height	76 feet (23 m)
Shape	Lattice Tower
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place, Michigan state historic site
Racon	O
Light
First lit	1849
Focal height	80 feet (24 m)
Lens	3rd order Fresnel Lens (original), Light-emitting diode (LED) lantern (current)
Intensity	RACON: O (– – –). Standby light of reduced intensity.
Range	15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi)
Characteristic	Fl(2) W 20s
Whitefish Point Light
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Michigan State Historic Site
NRHP reference No.	73000947
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	February 28, 1973
Designated MSHS	February 22, 1974

The Whitefish Point Light is a lighthouse located in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located on the southeastern shores of Lake Superior, it sits at the edge of Whitefish Point leading to Whitefish Bay. Constructed in 1849 by congress, it is the oldest operating lighthouse in the Upper Peninsula. All vessels entering or exiting Lake Superior pass near Whitefish Point. The area is infamously known as the "Graveyard of the Great Lakes" due to the high number of shipwrecks in the area, most famously the SS Edmund Fitzgerald.

The lighthouse is part of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum complex, which contains numerous relics from shipwrecks of the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve, including the bell of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. The lighthouse itself was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and again as a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974.

History

Construction on the first light began in 1847, and the lighthouse was said to resemble that at Old Presque Isle Light. First lit in 1849, it was one of the first lighthouses on the shores of Lake Superior. It is the oldest active light on the lake, standing at the point of land that marks the course change for vessels coming from the southern coast of Lake Superior, known as the "Graveyard of the Great Lakes", to the Soo Locks. All vessels entering or leaving Lake Superior must past Whitefish Point. Whitefish Point Light is arguably the most important light on Lake Superior. The Whitefish Point area has more shipwrecks than any other area in Lake Superior.

The original structure was outfitted with Lewis lamps, which were thereafter upgraded to a fourth order Fresnel lens. The current structure, while modern looking, is a Civil War relic. Built in 1861, the iron skeletal steel framework was designed to relieve stress caused by high winds. A similar design is used at Manitou Island Light in Lake Superior. It was equipped with a third order Fresnel lens.

In 1968, the light was replaced with a DCB-224 aero beacon manufactured by the Carlisle & Finch Company. According to Volume 7 of the U.S. Coast Guard light list, it was visible for a distance of 26 nautical miles (48 km; 30 mi) in clear weather conditions, and had two unevenly spaced eclipses, and two flashes within every 20 second period. Putting aside questions of nostalgia, aesthetics, or appreciation for the engineering of a bygone era (as exemplified by the Fresnel lens), this iteration of lighthouse illumination was itself incredibly effective, and an endangered remnant of another bygone era.

The station was automated in 1971.

In 2011, the U.S. Coast Guard Local Notice to Mariners reported reduced intensity of the Whitefish Point light from June 7, 2011 until August 16, 2011, when the DCB-224 Series Carlisle & Finch aerobeacon lens was changed to a light-emitting diode (LED) lantern with a reduced range of 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) as permitted by Coast Guard rules and regulations adopted in 2003 for private aids to navigation. The aerobeacon lens is stored in a building at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum complex for possible future public display.

The lighthouse is home to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, which has many artifacts from numerous shipwrecks in the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve, most notably, the bell from the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which was recovered from the wreck in 1995. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is open during the tourist season from 10 am to 6 pm, every day through October 31. The organization that operates the museum got 80.079% of its funding from the public in the year 2010.

The light is considered iconic, and has been the subject of memorabilia. An official Michigan Historical Marker was erected in 1974. It is Registered Site L0272. The marker notes:

• This light, the oldest on Lake Superior, began operating in 1849, though the present tower was constructed later. An early stopping place for Indians, Voyageurs, Coureur des bois and Jesuit missionaries, the point marks the course change for ore boats and other ships navigating this treacherous coastline to and from St. Mary's Canal. Since 1971 the light, fog signal, and radio beacon have been automated and controlled from Sault Ste. Marie.

The keepers were:

• 1848–1851: James B. Van Rensselaer
• 1851–1853: Amos Stiles
• 1853–1856: William C. Crampton
• 1856–1859: Belloni McGulpin
• 1859–1861: Charles Garland
• 1861–1864: Joseph Kemp
• 1864–1868: Thomas Stafford
• 1868–1874: Edward Ashman
• 1874–1882: Charles J. Linke
• 1882–1883: Edward Chambers
• 1883–1903: Charles Kimball
• 1903–1931: Robert Carlson

Whitefish Point is on the Lake Superior coastline known as the “Graveyard of the Great Lakes”. The numerous shipwrecks of Whitefish Bay include:

• Comet
• John B. Cowle
• Drake
• Samuel Mather
• Miztec
• Myron
• Niagara
• John M. Osborn
• Sagamore
• Superior City
• Vienna

These wreck sites are protected for future generations of sports divers by the Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve.

The site is a venue for remembrance of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, and extends back to the 1816 loss of "the very first ship known to sail on Superior, the sixty-foot trading vessel Invincible," which upended in gale force winds and towering waves near there. "very loss was tragic."

There are critics that claim that the stewardship of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society over this lighthouse caused it to be "overdeveloped." Michigan Audubon Society filed a lawsuit that accused the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society of over-developing Whitefish Point and the United States Fish & Wildlife Service of not protecting the site. The lawsuit was settled in 2002 when the parties agreed to govern the site with a management plan. The former 44-acre Coast Guard site at Whitefish Point consists of 2.7 acres transferred to the Michigan Audubon Society and the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, 8.3 acres transferred to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, and 33 acres transferred to the US Fish and Wildlife Service administered by Seney National Wildlife Refuge. The 20-acre Helstrom Addition was added to the Whitefish Point Unit of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge in 2012 so that the US Fish and Wildlife Service now holds a total of 55 acres at Whitefish Point.

Other uses

The Whitefish Point Unit of the Seney National Wildlife Refuge provides important migratory bird migration habitat for raptors, waterbirds, and songbirds. Whitefish Point is a designated Important Bird Area . The Whitefish Point Bird Observatory is a research and education facility operated in affiliation with Michigan Audubon, a State Chapter of the National Audubon Society. Whitefish Point is the best place in North America to observe the saw-whet owl. Most of Whitefish Point is a wildlife sanctuary, renowned for the variety of birds that pass through. The Michigan Audubon Society maintains a small information room informing birders particular species to observe as they hike along the trails network. A wooden walkway has been constructed to allow the visitor a chance to venture into the sanctuary area and observe wildlife. Whitefish Point is a target for migrating birds, including eagles, Northern goshawks, geese, falcons, hawks and owls.

The sandy beach along the point is an exciting place to look for banded agates, especially after a storm or to take a walk along the sandy shoreline and enjoy the magic of Lake Superior.

In 2012, for the fourth year in a row after a 23-year absence, piping plovers nested at Whitefish Point, and successfully fledged offspring.

From M-123 in Paradise, go north on Whitefish Point Road for just over 11 miles (18 km) to Whitefish Point Lighthouse. It is well marked.

See also

• Lighthouses in the United States
• Great Lakes Storm of 1913 and Shipwrecks of the 1913 Great Lakes storm

Specialized further reading

• Hermanson, Don, True Lighthouse Hauntings, Revisited including Whitefish Point Light.
• Lynn, Bruce. "A Light is on in the Graveyard, Whitefish Point." (Aug 1997), pp. 1–3 Lighthouse Digest.

Notes

1. ^ Allen, Thomas; Canfield, Edward (2001) . Life on a Lonely Shore (6th ed.). Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan: Lake Superior State University. p. 3. ISBN 0-9706903-0-4.
2. National Park Service Maritime Heritage, Inventory of Historic Lights, Whitefish Point Light.
3. ^ Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.
4. Pepper, Terry. "Database of Tower Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com.
5. Pepper, Terry. "Database of Focal Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com.
6. ^ "2011 Archives Imn09232011.pdf - Imn09332011.pdf". Local Notice to Mariners. U.S. Department of Homeland Security/U.S. Coast Guard. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
7. Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, "Lighthouse Tower Designs," at terrypepper.com.
8. Pepper, Terry. "Database of Original Lenses". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com.
9. "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.
10. State of Michigan (2009). "Whitefish Point Light". Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
11. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Whitefish Point Lighthouse Historical Marker
12. Jodie. "Whitefish Point Light Station". Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
13. ^ Exploring The North: Whitefish Point Lighthouse and Museum
14. Lighthouse Central, Photos of the Whitefish Point Light Station, The Ultimate Guide to Upper Michigan Lighthouses by Jerry Roach (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC – 2007). ISBN 978-0-9747977-2-4.
15. Jodie. "Whitefish Point Light Station". Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
16. Stonehouse, Frederick (1998) . Lake Superior's Shipwreck Coast (6th ed.). Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios. pp. 11–12, 176, 267. ISBN 0-932212-43-3.
17. Jodie. "Whitefish Point Light Station". Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
18. Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light – Whitefish Point Lighthouse.
19. Aero beacon, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.
20. "Carlisle & Finch Company". Archived from the original on March 9, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
21. "Trapani, Bob, DCB-36 Beacon... Fading Away and All but Forgotten by History, Stormherocs.com". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2009.
22. "33 CFR Part 66: Final Rule: Allowing Alternatives to Incandescent Lights, and Establishing Standards for New Lights, in Private Aids to Navigation". Federal Register. regulations.gov. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
23. "Virtual tour of Whitefish Point Light". Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
24. "Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society 2010 Form 990" (PDF). National Center for Charitable Statistics. 2010. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
25. Rubber Stamp, Whitefish Point Light.
26. Michigan Historical Markers.
27. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Michigan". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017.
28. Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve
29. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
30. "Birdwaters, shipwreck buffs seek deal in fight over revered site". The Evening News. Sault Ste. Marie, MI. April 7, 2002. p. 5A. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
31. Lively, Jim (2002). "Human use/natural resource management plan for Whitefish Point" (PDF). Michigan Land Use Institute. p. 13. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
32. Michigan Audubon Society v. Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society and United States Fish and Wildlife Service (W.D. MI 2001) ("…the structure and use of the proposed museum wings will not impair or interfere with the conservation values as provided in the Transfer Statutes…"), U.S. Courts: public access to court electronic records Text.
33. Whitefish Point Bird Observatory Archived March 18, 2004, at the Wayback Machine, Michigan Department of Natural Resources
34. Lively, p. 10
35. "Seney National Wildlife Refuge". Retrieved May 21, 2013.
36. "Michigan Birder Leaves a Legacy for Great Lakes Piping Plovers". April 29, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
37. Casselman, Tracy (2009). "Seney National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan" (PDF). United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
38. Whitefish Point Important Bird Area
39. Whitefish Point Bird Observatory Archived October 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine,
40. Owl Banding at Whitefish Point
41. Exploring the North, Birds at Whitefish Point.
42. Maslowski, Jeremy (August 1, 2012). "Return of the Piping Plover: A Seney National Wildlife Refuge Success Story". USFWS. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
43. Anderson, Kraig, Lighthouse Friends, Whitefish Point Lighthouse.
44. "Hermanson, Don, True Lighthouse Hauntings, Revisited, (Keweenaw Video) including Whitefish Point Light. (cover art)". Archived from the original on October 31, 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2009.

External links

• Media related to Whitefish Point Light Station at Wikimedia Commons
• Whitefish Point Light on the World List of Lights
• Whitefish Point Unit of Seney National Wildlife Refuge
• Aerial photos, Whitefish Point Light, marinas.com.
• National Park Service Maritime Heritage, Inventory of Historic Lights, Whitefish Point Light.
• Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point Light.
• Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light – Whitefish Point Lighthouse.
• Whitefish 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 Chippewa County, Michigan
Historic districts	New Fort Brady Sault Ste. Marie Historic Commercial District
Historic properties	Adams Building Birch Lodge Central Methodist Episcopal Church Chippewa County Courthouse Church of Our Saviour, Friend of Children DeTour Reef Light Elmwood Federal Building First United Presbyterian Church Fort Drummond Garfield School (Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan) Gowan Block Holy Name of Mary Pro-Cathedral John Johnston House Kinross Township Hall and School Lipsett Hardware Building M-28–Tahquamenon River Bridge Naomikong Point Site Old Fort Brady Parker Road–Charlotte River Bridge Philetus S. Church House Point Iroquois Light Saint James' Episcopal Church SS Valley Camp Whitefish Point Light
National Historic Landmark	St. Marys Falls Canal
See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Chippewa County, Michigan and List of National Historic Landmarks in Michigan

• Lighthouses completed in 1849
• Lighthouses completed in 1861
• Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
• Michigan State Historic Sites
• Marine parks of Michigan
• Important Bird Areas of Michigan
• Lighthouse museums in Michigan
• Museums in Chippewa County, Michigan
• Protected areas of Chippewa County, Michigan
• 1849 establishments in Michigan
• National Register of Historic Places in Chippewa County, Michigan
• Lighthouses in Chippewa County, Michigan