GRAND ISLAND HARBOR RANGE REAR

Type:
Year Established:
1868
Existing:
Yes
Source:
LL-1901
Grand Island Harbor Rear Range MI
Download:
File Type:
jpeg (image/jpeg)
Photo Date:
2000
Photo Credit:
Joice Dixon
Photo Courtesy of:
US Lighthouse Society Archives
Collection / Donor:

LOCATION

Location:
MUNISUNG BAY ENTRANCE/LAKE SUPERIOR
Latitude:
46° 26.12'
Longitude:
86° 41.28'
City / Town:
CHRISTMAS
U.S. State:
Michigan
Location County:
ALGER
Country:
United States

OWNER & ACCESS

Open to Public:
Yes

STRUCTURE

Year Discontinued:
1969-1998
Year Tower Established:
1913
Tower Construction Material:
STEEL
Tower Foundation:
CONCRETE PIER
Height of light above mean high water, in feet:
70
Height, in feet, from base of structure to center of lantern:
62
Tower Shape:
CONICAL
Fog Signal Building?:
No
Keeper's Quarters?:
No

OPTICS

Active Aid to Navigation?:
Yes
Private Aid:
No
USCG Access to Optics:
No
Comments:

Historical Information:

  • 1868: The Grand Island Range Lights were first lit. The front range light was a wooden pyramid structure with a sixth order Fresnel lens. The rear range sat 500 feet behind, on a tower atop a keeper’s dwelling and also displayed a sixth order Fresnel lens.

  • 1914: The wooden structures were rotted beyond repair and were replaced. The new rear light sat atop a 64 foot tower, the upper 32 feet were part of a tower relocated from Vidal Shoals. The front range light was 23 foot tall iron mast and was now 750 feet in front of the rear range light.

  • 1939: The original Fresnel lenses were replaced with modern optics. The rear range light has weathered time very well but the front range did not fair as well. 

  • 1968: It was replaced with a tubular steel structure. It is sometimes referred to as a “D9” derived from the Coast Guard district that designed it. 
  • The range lights are sometimes called the Bay Furnace Range Lights. The Bay Furnace Company operated a blast furnace in the area.
Entered by:
t.wheeler
Entered Date:
Jul 20, 2017