Grand Island Harbor Rear Range Light
Encyclopedia
The Grand Island Harbor Rear Range Light is a lighthouse located off M-28
near Christmas, Michigan
. It is also known as the Bay Furnace Rear Range Light. The corresponding front range light was replaced in 1968; the rear range light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1990. It is no longer an active aid to navigation.
The grounds only are publicly accessible, but a hike is required.
's house, 500 feet (152.4 m) to the rear of the front range light.
By 1914, these original frame structures were severely rotted, and both were replaced as part of a broader effort of replacing nearly all harbor lights with steel-framed structures. The new front range light was a 23 feet (7 m) iron mast. A new automated rear range light was installed 750 feet (228.6 m) to the rear of the front range light. The new rear range light was a 64 feet (19.5 m) tower, the upper half (painted white) of which was part of a tower originally located at the Vidal Shoals. near Sault Ste. Marie
. In 1939, the sixth-order Fresnel lenses were replaced with 350 millimeter glass lenses, which still used acetylene gas. In 1968, the front range light was replaced with a "D9" style tubular steel structure; in 1969 the lights were deactivated.
. The tower sits on a concrete foundation; a metal door in the base of the tower and interior spiral stair provides access to the light.The tower painted black on the bottom and white on the top, with a black lantern room. The existing light was built in 1914 replacing the original 1868 station.
M-28 (Michigan highway)
M-28 is an east–west state trunkline highway that almost completely traverses the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan, from Wakefield to near Sault Ste. Marie in Bruce Township...
near Christmas, Michigan
Christmas, Michigan
Christmas is an unincorporated community in Au Train Township of Alger County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located on M-28 a few miles northwest of Munising at . Christmas is located near the Bay Furnace campgrounds on Lake Superior in the Hiawatha National Forest...
. It is also known as the Bay Furnace Rear Range Light. The corresponding front range light was replaced in 1968; the rear range light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1990. It is no longer an active aid to navigation.
The grounds only are publicly accessible, but a hike is required.
History
The Grand Island Range Lights were lit first in 1868. The original front range light was a wooden pyramid that held a sixth-order Fresnel lens. The original rear range light was a sixth-order Fresnel lens in a wooden tower atop a frame keeperLighthouse keeper
A lighthouse keeper is the person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Keepers were needed to trim the wicks, replenish fuel, wind clockworks and perform maintenance tasks such as cleaning...
's house, 500 feet (152.4 m) to the rear of the front range light.
By 1914, these original frame structures were severely rotted, and both were replaced as part of a broader effort of replacing nearly all harbor lights with steel-framed structures. The new front range light was a 23 feet (7 m) iron mast. A new automated rear range light was installed 750 feet (228.6 m) to the rear of the front range light. The new rear range light was a 64 feet (19.5 m) tower, the upper half (painted white) of which was part of a tower originally located at the Vidal Shoals. near Sault Ste. Marie
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie is a city in and the county seat of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the north-eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canadian border, separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River...
. In 1939, the sixth-order Fresnel lenses were replaced with 350 millimeter glass lenses, which still used acetylene gas. In 1968, the front range light was replaced with a "D9" style tubular steel structure; in 1969 the lights were deactivated.
Rear range light description
The 1914 Rear Range Light is a steel conical tower, 64 feet (19.5 m) high, with a round lantern. The light of one of the tallest, if not the tallest, of the riveted steel plate light towers installed around the Great LakesGreat Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
. The tower sits on a concrete foundation; a metal door in the base of the tower and interior spiral stair provides access to the light.The tower painted black on the bottom and white on the top, with a black lantern room. The existing light was built in 1914 replacing the original 1868 station.
External links
- Aerial photography, Grand Island West Channel Rear Range Lighthouse at Marinas.com.
- Grand Island Harbor Range Lighthouse (Bay Furnace) from the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy
- Satellite view at Google mapsGoogle MapsGoogle Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...
. - GRAND ISLAND HARBOR RANGE LIGHTS from the US Forest Service