Manistique East Breakwater Light

Manistique East Breakwater Light

Manistique Breakwater Lighthouse
Location	Manistique, Michigan
Coordinates	45°56′41.2296″N 86°14′51.5544″W / 45.944786000°N 86.247654000°W / 45.944786000; -86.247654000Coordinates: 45°56′41.2296″N 86°14′51.5544″W / 45.944786000°N 86.247654000°W / 45.944786000; -86.247654000
Year first constructed	1916
Year first lit	1916
Automated	1969
Foundation	Concrete pier
Construction	Steel
Tower shape	Square pyramidal[1]
Markings / pattern	Red with black lantern[1]
Original lens	Fourth-order Fresnel (original)
ARLHS number	USA-469
USCG number	7-21475
Manistique East Breakwater Light
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Area	less than one acre
MPS	Light Stations of the United States MPS
NRHP Reference #	05000980[2]
Added to NRHP	September 6, 2005

The Manistique Breakwater lighthouse is located in the harbor of Manistique, Michigan.^[1] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.^[2]

History

At the beginning of the 20th century, Manistique was a boom town, with timber and pig iron shipping from the harbor daily.^[3] However, the harbor itself was protected only be timber crib piers originally constructed in the 1870s. However, by 1910, leaders in Manistique managed to convince the Federal government of the financial importance of the harbor, and an Army Corps of Engineers harbor expert was sent to Manistique to draw up plans for a concrete breakwater structure. The contract to construct the breakwaters was awarded to the Greiling Brothers Company, and construction was started in 1910.^[3]

At the same time, George Putnam, the newly appointed Commissioner of lighthouses, recommended the erection of lights on the breakwater.^[3] In 1912, the Lighthouse Service erected temporary range lights on one of the piers. Funding for permanent lights was approved in 1913, and by 1914 permanent lights on the west breakwater were complete. The east breakwater itself was not completed until 1915, at which time work began on the east breakwater light and a station keeper's house at the foot of the breakwater. Construction was completed in August, and the new light was lit on August 17, 1916.^[3]

As the century progressed, Manistique's importance as a port waned. The light was automated in 1969, and the original Fourth Order Fresnel lens was replaced with a 12-inch (300 mm) Tidelands Signal acrylic optic.^[3] In 2000, the Corps of Engineers replaced the concrete breakwater with rip rap.^[1]

In 2012, efforts were made under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 to convey the lighthouse to an eligible entity at no cost. When no such entity assumed stewardship of the lighthouse, it was made available for sale via GSA Auctions. The auction closed July 15, 2013, and the lighthouse was bought by a private individual.^[4]

Notes

The Manistique East Break Water Point is over 15 feet tall It's in what is called the Garden Peninsula

References

• Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Manistique East Breakwater Light.

• Lighthouse Central, Manistique East Breakwater light The Ultimate Guide to Upper Michigan Lighthouses by Jerry Roach. (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - 2007). ISBN 978-0-9747977-2-4.

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