Whitefish Point Lighthouse - Whitefish Township, MI
N 46° 46.233 W 084° 57.400
16T E 656007 N 5181693
The Whitefish Point Light was built in 1849, added to NRHP in 1973 and located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula on Lake Superior.
Waymark Code: WM1AGHE
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 08/17/2024
Views: 2
The lighthouse at Whitefish Point is a cylindrical iron
tower 75 feet tall, supported by an iron skeleton framework.
It is painted white and attached to the adajacent 1 1/2
story framekeeper•s dwelling by a covered walkway. Next
to the tower is a one story brick building constructed to ~
house the boilers for steam-powered fog horns. The station
is still in active service, its light visible for about
fifteen miles.
The location for the Whitefish Point lighthouse was
selected in 1847, and next year construction began on
the original stone dwelling and tower. The station was
one of the first two to be established on Lake Superior,
since it marked the division between the main expanse
of the lake and the confined waters at its eastern end
which lead to the St. Mary's River. Apparently, the original
tower proved unsatisfactory, for in 1859~60 the Lighthouse
Board entered into a contract for construction of an
"iron pile" lighthouse at Whitefish Point, and at two
other locations on the upper lakes. All three were
finished in the early spring of 1861. The Whitefish
Point light is the only one of these still in existence,
and it is still in use. No other lighthouse of this age
and type of construction is known to exist in Michigan. -
NRHP Nomination Form