Port Sanilac

Type:
Year Established:
1886
Existing:
Yes
Source:
LL-1901
Port Sanilac
Download:
File Type:
jpeg (image/jpeg)
Photo Credit:
Joyce Dixon
Photo Courtesy of:
US Lighthouse Society Archives
Collection / Donor:

LOCATION

Location:
POINT SANILAC/LAKE HURON
Latitude:
43° 25'44"
Longitude:
82° 32'42"
City / Town:
PORT SANILAC
U.S. State:
Michigan
Location County:
SANILAC
Country:
United States

OWNER & ACCESS

Open to Public:
No
Light List Data:
  1. Port Sanilac
Light list data courtesy Gary Riemenschneider

STRUCTURE

Year Discontinued:
1928
Disposition:
Now in private ownership
Year Tower Established:
1886
Tower Construction Material:
BRICK
Tower Foundation:
DRESSED STONE/TIMBER
Height of light above mean high water, in feet:
69 FT ABOVE WATER
Height, in feet, from base of structure to center of lantern:
52 FT
Tower Shape:
OCTAGONAL HOURGLASS
Fog Signal Building?:
No
Keeper's Quarters?:
Yes
Year Keeper's Quarters:
1886
Keeper's Quarters Style:
ATTACHED TO TOWER
Keeper's Quarters Construction:
BRICK
Other Structures:
BRICK OIL HOUSE, WOODEN OUTHOUSE, WOODEN COVERED WELL

OPTICS

Active Aid to Navigation?:
Yes
Current Optic:
FOURTH ORDER, FRESNEL
Original Optic Type:
FOURTH ORDER, FRESNEL
Year Original Lens Installed:
1886
Private Aid:
No
Year Automated:
1925
USCG Access to Optics:
No
Comments:

Historical Information:

  • 1885: $20,000 was appropriated and Point Sanilac was chosen as the optimal site.
  • 1886: Construction began in June, leaving only four and a half months to complete the project.
  • The tower is fourteen feet in diameter at the base and gradually narrows to nine feet beneath the gallery. Immediately beneath the gallery, bricks were laid out to create an upside down staircase effect giving the lighthouse a sort of hourglass shape. Four windows were added to create a watch room, as each direction could be seen from the room. The lantern was fitted with a fourth order Fresnel lens and could be seen 13 miles at sea.
  • 1886: Port Sanilac first lit October 20. The keepers dwelling was built to south of the tower and connected to the tower by a covered walkway with the only entrance to both structures.
  • 1889: The light was changed to a fix red.
  • 1925: Electricity came to the station and it was automated.
  • 1928: The last keeper of the light left. The buildings went into private ownership some time after that though the Coast Guard maintains the tower and the lantern. The lighthouse remains an active aid to navigation.
Entered by:
t.wheeler
Entered Date:
Jul 20, 2017