St. Helena Island Light
The buildings of the St Helena Light complex are the sole surviving structures on St. Helena Island, in Mackinac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The lighthouse on the St. Helena Island's southeastern point was built in 1872-1873 and went into operation in September 1873.[8] It became one of a series of lighthouses that guided vessels through the Straits of Mackinac, past a dangerous shoal that extends from the island.[9]
History
St. Helena Island, which is 240 acres (97 ha) in size, is located offshore from
During the Civil War years, it became increasingly apparent that a shoal near St. Helena Island menaced maritime traffic through the Straits of Mackinac. At the urging of the United States Lighthouse Board, Congress appropriated $14,000 in 1872 for a lighthouse to be built of limestone and brick on this location and fitted with a 3.5-order Fresnel lens. This work created the St. Helena Island Light. This Light became part of what would be complex of 14 reef lights distributed throughout the shoals and hazardous points of the Straits of Mackinac.[10] This essential Light was staffed by either one or two lighthouse keepers from its initial operation in 1873 until 1922. A complex of buildings was constructed around the lighthouse to support its operation, including keepers' dwellings, a boat dock, and a boathouse.[11]
This was the first Michigan lighthouse to lose its
Current status
The light is an active aid to navigation, and is used for maritime heritage education. It is managed by the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association, which has a thirty-year lease,[13] but the Coast Guard maintains the optic.[8][14]
After the St. Helena lighthouse complex was de-staffed and the civilian fishing station became a ghost settlement, evidence of human presence on the island began to structurally deteriorate. Wreckers, vandals, and plunderers imposed significant damage upon the light tower and adjacent structures. The U.S. Coast Guard, the lighthouse's last federal operator, viewed the remains as "attractive nuisances" for which they bore continuing legal liability. They recommended in 1980 that the lighthouse complex be razed.[15] Due to lack of demolition funds, the recommendation was not implemented. However, early in the 1980s, the assistant keeper's dwelling and boathouse were leveled.[11]
This recommendation was not implemented and the
The Coast Guard transferred the lighthouse complex and reservation to the GLLKA in 1997 via legislative transfer, on condition that the GLLKA continue to allow the Coast Guard to operate the light.[17] A light continues to operate to this day with a 9.8-inch (250 mm) acrylic lens,[18] the original Fresnel lens having disappeared.[11] The remainder of St. Helena Island, outside the lighthouse reservation, was purchased by the Little Traverse Conservancy[19] in September 2001.
The light's restoration has won numerous state national and state historic preservation awards. These include
St. Helena Island Light is one of 149 lighthouses in Michigan. Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state.
Boy Scouts from Troop 4 still visit the island every year in mid-June to continue renovations to the light station.
Viewing the lighthouse
The St. Helena Lighthouse can be seen from numerous points on the Michigan mainland, including a lake shore highway rest area on
A private boat is, of course, the best way to see this light close up. Short of that, Shepler's Ferry Service out of Mackinaw City offers periodic lighthouse tours in the summer season. Its "Westbound Tour" includes passes by St. Helena Island Light, and even offers a luncheon. Schedules and rates are available from Shepler's.[23][24]
An expensive but exciting alternative is to charter a seaplane to tour the lights in the straits.[25]
References
- ^ Pepper, Terry. "Database of Tower Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com.
- ^ Pepper, Terry. "Database of Focal Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com.
- ^ a b Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.
- ^ a b "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Michigan". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017.
- ^ Pepper, Terry. "Database of Original Lenses". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com.
- ^ a b c Terry Pepper, Seeing The Light, St. Helena Island Light.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b National Park Service Maritime History Project, Inventory of Historic Light Stations, St. Helena Island Light. Archived 2006-02-07 at the Wayback Machine
- Detroit News.
- ISBN 978-0-7627-2269-3.
- ^ Boatnerd.com.
- ISBN 978-0-9747977-2-4.
- ^ Lighthouses in the Mackinac Straits, Lighthouse Friends.
- ^ *Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, St. Helena Island Light.
- ^ a b Stephen D. Wise, "Saint Helena Island", in "Smart Communities Network" (accessed April 9, 2009)"Smart Communities Network: Green Buildings Success Stories". Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved April 9, 2008., no date.
- ^ a b Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- ^ Acrylic lens, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.
- ^ Little Traverse Conservancy home page. Archived 2008-05-12 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places: Michigan - Mackinac County" (accessed September 14, 2007)[1]
- ^ Anderson, Kraig. Lighthouse Friends, St. Helena light.
- ^ Needlepoint of St. Helena.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Shepler's Ferry Service. Archived 2008-05-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Fourteen Foot Shoal Light.
- ^ Stoke, Keith, A seaplane tour of the Straits.
Further reading
- "A Tour of the Lights of the Straits." Michigan History 70 (Sep/Oct 1986), pp. 17–29.
- Brisson, Steven C. (Mackinac State Historic Parks chief curator). Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse: A History & Pictorial Souvenir (1/29/2008).Old Mackinac Point Light Press Release.
- "Round Island Passage Light Station." Proceedings of the Merchant Marine Council 5 (Sep 1948), p. 145.
- Wobser, Dave, St. Helena Island Lighthouse Great Laker magazine reprinted at Boatnerd.com. (Includes links to a lot of really great pictures.) Archived 2008-09-07 at the Wayback Machine