Bois Blanc Light

Bois Blanc Light
1867 Bois Blanc Lighthouse (showing 1924 steel tower)

Location	Bois Blanc Island, Michigan
Coordinates	45°48′40″N 84°25′19″W / 45.811°N 84.422°W / 45.811; -84.422Coordinates: 45°48′40″N 84°25′19″W / 45.811°N 84.422°W / 45.811; -84.422
Year first lit	1867
Deactivated	1924
Construction	yellow brick
Tower shape	square
Markings / pattern	Natural w/white lantern
Height	Tower - 38 feet (12 m)
Focal height	Focal plane - 53 feet (16 m)^[1]
Original lens	Fourth order Fresnel Lens
Current lens	removed
Range	11.7 nautical miles; 21.7 kilometres (13.5 mi)
Characteristic	^[2]
ARLHS number	USA-068
USCG number	7-12535^[3]

Bois Blanc Light can refer to one of five lighthouses erected on Bois Blanc Island, Michigan, in Lake Huron. Two of the lighthouses are currently standing.

History

The original structure, built in 1829, was the second lighthouse constructed on Lake Huron.^[4] Due to rising water levels, the lighthouse became unstable, and eventually collapsed on December 9, 1837.^[5] The lighthouse was rebuilt in the summer of 1839, further inland from the original structure. Eventually this structure also became dilapidated, and a new lighthouse was constructed in 1867.

This light was decommissioned in 1924 and boarded up, being replaced by an automated acetylene light atop a 35-foot (11 m) tall black steel skeleton tower to the east of the old light. The old station property and buildings were sold to Earl J. Coffey on August 24, 1925, and some time thereafter the steel skeletal tower was replaced by the currently operational cylindrical D9 tower with solar-powered 7.9-inch (200 mm) acrylic optic, which is basically a tube with a light on the top. It is functional, but spartan.

Legacy

The 1867 lighthouse is now owned by the Martin and Reinhart Jahn families, who have gone to great lengths in restoring the historic structure, which was in severely deteriorated condition when they took ownership.^[6] The structures on the site are a remarkably complete set, and also include the old life saving station, a brick outhouse, a brick oil shed, and a cement boathouse on the South side of the island.^[7]

The light is listed on the state inventory of historic structures.^[8]

A private boat is, of course, the best way to see this light close up. Short of that, Shepler's Ferry Service out of Mackinaw City offers periodic lighthouse cruises in the summer season. Its "Eastbound Tour" includes passes by Round Island Light, Bois Blanc Island and Lighthouse, Poe Reef Light and Fourteen Foot Shoal Light. Schedules and rates are available from Shepler's.^[9]^[10]

It is also possible to do a seaplane tour of the Mackinac Straits to see the lights in the area.^[11]

Specialized Further reading

Brisson, Steven C. (Mackinac State Historic Parks chief curator). Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse: A History & Pictorial Souvenir (1/29/2008).^[12]
"A Tour of the Lights of the Straits." Michigan History 70 (Sep/Oct 1986), pp. 17–29.

Notes

↑ Database on Focal Plane, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.
↑ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Michigan". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
↑ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Eastern Lower Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
↑ Wagner, John L. "Beacons Shining in the Night: The Lighthouses of Michigan -- Chronology". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University.
↑ Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Bois Blanc Island lights. Archived May 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Terry Pepper Seeing the Light Bois Blanc Island lights. Archived May 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
↑ National Park Service, Maritime Heritage Program, Inventory of Historic Lights, Old Bois Blanc Island light.
↑ Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Bois Blanc Light.
↑ Shepler's Ferry Service.
↑ Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Fourteen Foot Shoal Light.
↑ Stoke, Keith, A seaplane tour of the Straits.
↑ Old Mackinac Point Light Press Release.

External links

Lighthouses in Michigan

Northern Upper Peninsula	Au Sable Big Bay Point Copper Harbor Copper Harbor Front Range Crisp Point Eagle Harbor Eagle Harbor Range Lights Eagle River Fourteen Mile Point Grand Island East Channel Grand Island Harbor Rear Range Grand Island North Grand Marais Range Lights Granite Island Gull Rock Huron Island Isle Royale Manitou Island Marquette Breakwater Outer Marquette Harbor Mendota (Bete Grise) Munising Front Range Munising Rear Range Ontonagon Ontonagon Harbor West Breakwater Portage River (Jacobsville) Passage Island Rock Harbor Rock of Ages Sand Hills Sand Point Light (Baraga) St. Martin Island Stannard Rock Thunder Bay Island Whitefish Point

Southern Upper Peninsula	DeTour Reef Lansing Shoals Manistique East Breakwater Martin Reef Menominee Pier Minneapolis Shoal Naubinway Island Peninsula Point Poverty Island Sand Point Seul Choix Squaw Island St. Martin Island

St. Mary's River	Frying Pan Island Pipe Island Point Iroquois Round Island Light (St. Mary's River) Six Mile Point Range Rear Winter Point Range Front

Portage River/Ship Canal	Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Keweenaw Waterway Upper Entrance Portage Lake Rouleau Point Range Front and Rear Lights

Straits of Mackinac	Bois Blanc McGulpin Point Old Mackinac Point Round Island Round Island Passage St. Helena Island

Western Lower Peninsula	Beaver Island Harbor Beaver Island Head Big Sable Point Cedar River Charlevoix Charlevoix South Pier Frankfort Frankfort South Range Grand Haven North Pierhead Grand Haven South Pierhead Entrance Grand Haven South Pierhead Inner Grand Traverse Grays Reef Holland Harbor Ile Aux Galets Little Sable Point Little Traverse Ludington Manistee Pierhead Manning Memorial Mission Point Mission Point (1933) Muskegon Breakwater Muskegon Pier North Manitou Shoal Pentwater North Pierhead Pentwater South Pierhead Point Betsie Portage Lake South Fox Island South Haven South Manitou Island St. Joseph North Pier Inner St. Joseph North Pier Outer South Manitou Island Waugoshance White River White Shoal

Eastern Lower Peninsula	Alpena Caseville Harbor Charity Island Cheboygan Crib Cheboygan River Front Range DeTour Reef Detroit River Fort Gratiot Forty Mile Point Fourteen Foot Shoal Gibraltar Gravelly Shoal Harbor Beach Lake St. Clair Mariners Memorial Middle Island Miller Memorial New Presque Isle Old Presque Isle Peche Island Rear Range Poe Reef Pointe aux Barques Port Austin Port Sanilac Saginaw Bay Saginaw River Rear Range Spectacle Reef St. Clair Flats Front and Rear Range Light Sturgeon Point Tawas Point Thunder Bay Island Tri-Centennial Light of Detroit William Livingstone Memorial Windmill Point

Historical (lost) lights	Au Sable North Pierhead Belle Isle Clinton River Ecorse Ecorse Range Rear Gibraltar Grassy Island Grassy Island North Channel Range Lights Grassy Island South Channel Range Lights Grosse Ile North Channel Range Lights Grosse Ile South Channel Range Lights Harwood Point East Range Front Kalamazoo River Mama Juda Mama Juda Range Front Manistee Main Middle Lake George Monroe Pier New Buffalo North Manitou Island Saginaw Bay Sand Beach North Entrance East Squaw Point St. Mary's River Lower Range Front Vidal Shoals Channel Range Front and Rear Lights Windmill Point Range Front and Rear Lights

Related	Lightship Huron List of lifesaving stations in Michigan

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