Kalamazoo River (Saugatuck)

Alternate Name(s):
Saugatuck
Year Established:
1839
Existing:
No
Source:
LL-1901
Download:
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
Light List Data:
  1. Kalamazoo River (Saugatuck)
Light list data courtesy Gary Riemenschneider

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

Active Aid to Navigation?:
No
Original Optic Type:
FIFTH ORDER
Private Aid:
No
USCG Access to Optics:
No

Comments:

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.


Entered by:
t.wheeler
Entered Date:
Jan 15, 2018