Bois Blanc Island Lighthouse - Mackinac County, MI
Posted by: 
hykesj
N 45° 48.634 W 084° 25.250
16T E 700389 N 5076234
1867 combination dwelling and tower lighthouse which replaced two earlier structures on Bois Blanc Island in the Straits of Mackinac.
Waymark Code: WM18PCR
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 09/04/2023
Views: 0
The second lighthouse built on Lake Huron was built in 1829 on this spot, a narrow peninsula that juts north off of Bois Blanc Island. It was destroyed in a storm less than ten years later and replaced with a similar structure that lasted until 1867. The current structure was a combination tower/dwelling made with Cream City bricks - a design that was reused for numerous other lighthouses built in this area in ensuing years. After the fourth order Fresnel lens was transferred from the old tower, the previous structures were demolished.
Throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century, these lighthouses on Bois Blanc Island helped guide ships in and out of Mackinac Island harbor which had become a center of commerce in the northern Great Lakes. But by the 1920s, with the construction of several new lighthouses along the south side of Bois Blanc Island, this lighthouse became less critical. In 1925, it was replaced with a simpler, automated acetylene light a few hundred feet to the north and the old building was abandoned.
The lighthouse was eventually sold, and the new owners converted it into a summer home. It is currently well preserved and can be easily seen from Lake Huron. The acetylene light a few hundred feet to the north, was replaced in the 1980s with a fully automated solar-powered light atop a 30-ft. tower.
Coastal Lighthouse: Lighthouse
Range Lights: Not listed
LIGHTHOUSE CHALLENGE VISIT: Not listed
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