Bois Blanc Light can refer to one of five lighthouses erected on Bois Blanc Island

Bois Blanc Island (Michigan)

Bois Blanc Island is coterminous with Bois Blanc Township, Mackinac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The island covers about and is about 12 miles long, 6 miles wide and has 6 lakes. Bois Blanc is located in Lake Huron southeast of Mackinac Island and almost due north of the city of...

, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

, in Lake Huron

Lake Huron

Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...

. Two of the lighthouses are currently standing.

History

The original structure, built in 1829, was the second lighthouse constructed on Lake Huron. Due to rising water levels, the lighthouse became unstable, and eventually collapsed on December 9, 1837. 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

Acetylene

Acetylene is the chemical compound with the formula C2H2. It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in pure form and thus is usually handled as a solution.As an alkyne, acetylene is unsaturated because...

 light atop a 35 feet (10.7 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 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. The structures on the site are a remarkably complete set, and also include the old life saving station, a brick outhouse

Outhouse

An outhouse is a small structure separate from a main building which often contained a simple toilet and may possibly also be used for housing animals and storage.- Terminology :...

, a brick oil shed, and a cement boathouse on the South side of the island.

The light is listed on the state inventory of historic structures.

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

Round Island Light (Michigan)

The Round Island Light, also known as the "Old Round Island Point Lighthouse" is a lighthouse located on the west shore of Round Island in the shipping lanes of the Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake Michigan and Lake Huron...

, Bois Blanc Island

Bois Blanc Island (Michigan)

Bois Blanc Island is coterminous with Bois Blanc Township, Mackinac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The island covers about and is about 12 miles long, 6 miles wide and has 6 lakes. Bois Blanc is located in Lake Huron southeast of Mackinac Island and almost due north of the city of...

 and Lighthouse, Poe Reef Light

Poe Reef Light

Poe Reef is a lighthouse located at the east end of South Channel between Bois Blanc Island and the mainland of the Lower Peninsula, about six miles east of Cheboygan Poe Reef has historically caused problems for shipping...

 and Fourteen Foot Shoal Light

Fourteen Foot Shoal Light

The lighthouse at Fourteen Foot Shoal was named to note that the lake is only deep at this point, which is a hazard to navigation, ships and mariners....

. Schedules and rates are available from Shepler's.

It is also possible to do a seaplane

Seaplane

A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...

 tour of the Mackinac Straits to see the lights in the area.

Specialized Further reading

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

External links

• Interactive map of Lights in Northern Lake Michigan, mapped by Google.
• Lighthouses in the Mackinac Straits.
• Interactive map, pictures, descriptions of Northern Lake Huron lights.
• Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Bois Blanc Light.
• Michigan Lighthouse Friends, Bois Blanc Light.
• National Park Service
  National Park Service
  The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
  
  Maritime Heritage Program, Inventory of Historic Lights, Old Bois Blanc Island light.
• Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Bois Blanc Island lights.
• U.S. Coast Guard Search & Rescue Index
• Wobser, David, Bois Blanc Island Light at Boatnerd.com.