Alternate Name(s):
Saugatuck
Type:
Year Established:
1839
Existing:
No
Source:
LL-1901
Download:
Kalamazoo MI ca 1912.jpeg (476.8 KB)
File Type:
jpeg (image/jpeg)
Photo Date:
ca 1912
Photo Credit:
US Lighthouse Service
Photo Courtesy of:
US Lighthouse Society Archives
Collection / Donor:
LOCATION
Location:
Kalamazoo River Mouth
Latitude:
42° 40'00"
Longitude:
86° 12'45"
City / Town:
KALAMAZOO
U.S. State:
Michigan
Country:
United States
OWNER & ACCESS
Open to Public:
No
STRUCTURE
Year Discontinued:
1876-1892
Disposition:
Replaced by Pierhead Light 1876; Reestablished 1892; Destroyed by Tornado 1956
Year Tower Established:
1839
Height of light above mean high water, in feet:
53 FT ABOVE WATER
Height, in feet, from base of structure to center of lantern:
35 FT
Fog Signal Building?:
No
Keeper's Quarters?:
No
Year Keeper's Quarters:
1839
Other Structures:
BOATHOUSE
OPTICS
Original Optic Type:
FIFTH ORDER
Private Aid:
No
USCG Access to Optics:
No
More Information
Entered by:
Entered Date:
Jan 15, 2018
Historical Information:
Also known as the Saugatuck lighthouse.
1837: Congress appropriated $5,000 for a lighthouse to mark the mouth of the Kalamazoo River.
1839: First lighthouse built. It was one of the first lights built on Lake Michigan.
1858: The first lighthouse fell over after the foundation was undermined by eroding sand.
1859: New lighthouse built on higher ground.
1876: Light was moved from the lighthouse onto a pole on the south pier.
1892: After a steamer ran into the pier, the light was placed back in the lighthouse.
1914: The lighthouse was deactivated by the Coast Guard and abandoned.
1956: Tornados destroyed the lighthouse.