POINTE AUX BARQUES

Type:
Year Established:
1847
Existing:
Yes
Source:
LL-1901
2009 station photo
Download:
File Type:
jpeg (image/jpeg)
Photo Date:
2009
Photo Credit:
Chad Kaiser
Photo Courtesy of:
US Lighthouse Society Archives
Collection / Donor:

LOCATION

Location:
POINTE AUX BARQUES REEF/LAKE HURON
Latitude:
44° 01'23"
Longitude:
82° 48'00"
City / Town:
PORT HOPE
U.S. State:
Michigan
Location County:
HURON
Country:
United States

OWNER & ACCESS

Open to Public:
Yes
Light List Data:
  1. POINTE AUX BARQUES
Light list data courtesy Gary Riemenschneider

STRUCTURE

Year Tower Established:
1857
Tower Construction Material:
BRICK
Tower Foundation:
DRESSED STONE/TIMBER
Height of light above mean high water, in feet:
89 FT ABOVE WATER
Height, in feet, from base of structure to center of lantern:
79 FT
Tower Shape:
CONICAL
Fog Signal Building?:
No
Keeper's Quarters?:
Yes
Year Keeper's Quarters:
1857
Keeper's Quarters Style:
ATTACHED TO TOWER
Keeper's Quarters Construction:
BRICK
Other Structures:
RED IRON OIL HOUSE, CARRIAGE HOUSE, RED BRICK ASST. KEEPERS DWELLING (1908)

OPTICS

Active Aid to Navigation?:
Yes
Current Optic:
DCB 224
Original Optic Type:
THIRD ORDER, FRESNEL
Year Original Lens Installed:
1857
Private Aid:
No
Year Automated:
1958
USCG Access to Optics:
Yes
Comments:

Historical Information:

  • 1847: Construction began on the Pointe Aux Barques light station.
  • 1848: The tower was lit. There is no definitive record of the original tower or keeper’s dwelling. It is thought the station would have been similar to others lighting the Great Lakes at the time, perhaps a short tower with a small keeper’s quarters made of stone from the nearby shoreline.
  • 1857: The station had to be rebuilt as the existing tower was no longer felt to be an effective aid to navigation. The new tower stood 89 feet tall and is one of the tallest in the Great Lakes. A two story keeper’s dwelling was attached via a covered passageway. A 3rd order Fresnel lens was fitted and visible 16 miles at sea.
  • 1908: An assistant keeper’s dwelling was built at the site. An upgraded incandescent lamp replaced the third order lens and was visible 18 miles at sea.
  • 1958: The light was automated and the grounds were sold to Huron County. The county opened the grounds as a park and two museums are housed in the keeper’s quarters, The Keepers of the Light and The Thumb Underwater Preserve.
  • The light remains an active aid to navigation.
Entered by:
t.wheeler
Entered Date:
Jul 20, 2017