Harbor Beach Light - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Harbor Beach Lighthouse is a "sparkplug lighthouse

Sparkplug lighthouse

A sparkplug lighthouse, sometimes known as a bug light, is a type of caisson lighthouse so named because of its shape. Generally speaking, a sparkplug lighthouse consists of a three-story living area, with the lantern on top; the whole is then placed upon a concrete or metal caisson. The...

" located at the end of the north breakwall entrance to the harbor of refuge on 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...

. The breakwall and light were created by the United States Army Corps of Engineers

United States Army Corps of Engineers

The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...

to protect the harbor

Harbor

A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...

of Harbor Beach, Michigan

Harbor Beach, Michigan

Harbor Beach is a city in Huron County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,837 at the 2000 census, with an estimated population of 1,587 in 2009.-Geography:...

, which is the greatest man-made freshwater harbor in the world. Harbor Beach is located on the eastern edge of the Thumb

The Thumb

The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten; thus the Thumb is the area that looks like the thumb of the mitten. The Thumb is generally considered to be in the Mid-Michigan area of the state, located east of Flint/Tri-Cities...

of Huron County

Huron County, Michigan

-Highways:* M-19* M-25* M-53* M-142-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 36,079 people, 14,597 households, and 10,144 families residing in the county. The population density was 43 people per square mile . There were 20,430 housing units at an average density of 24 per square mile...

, in the state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

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"....

History

Prior to the 1900s, this port was a major harbor of refuge and was the home of one of the most active lifesaving crews on Lake Huron. In the 1880s, a massive breakwater extension was constructed and many lake boats took shelter. Dozens of shipwrecks lie around the area, evidence of the boats that tried, but did not make, the shelter.

Since 1885, the Harbor Beach Breakwater Lighthouse has been an area of refuge to ships caught in the fury of Mother Nature and Lake Huron during stormy seas. This lighthouse replaced the wood skeleton lighthouse which was built in 1877.

The new lighthouse was built on a timber foundation crib

Crib pier

A crib pier is a type of pier built with the supporting columns made of 'cribs'. Typically a crib is made from wood, but it could be made from any long cylindrical material...

. It is a conical, brick structure encased in cast iron plates. The building was originally painted brown; it thereafter went through iterations where it had a black parapet

Parapet

A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...

and lantern. At the top a round cast-iron watch room supports a ten-sided

Decahedron

In geometry, a decahedron is a polyhedron with 10 faces. There are 32300 topologically distinct decahedra and none are regular, so this name is ambiguous.With regular faces:* Octagonal prism * Square antiprism...

, cast iron lantern. The light sits 54 feet (16.5 m) above the harbor and can be seen for up to 20 miles (32.2 km) out to sea. A concrete cap, partially faced with brick veneer, supports the 45 feet (13.7 m) tower. Below the brick veneer, extending to the lake bottom is a timber cribbing filled with 100 to 300 pounds of stones, which provides the necessary counterweight needed to prevent the structure from overturning or sliding.

The light shares its design and engineering with the Detroit River Light

Detroit River Light

The Detroit River Light, also known as Bar Point Shoal Light, was first established as a lightship in 1875. The current sparkplug lighthouse was built in 1885. It sits in Lake Erie, south of the mouth of the Detroit River, from land and about from the Ambassador Bridge in the Detroit River. It...

which was also built in 1885.

In the lighthouse, the first deck housed a kitchen with a cookstove and also was a living area. The next two decks were sleeping quarters. The second deck was for the assistants, the third deck for the keeper. The fourth deck was used as a workroom and fifth was the watch room at the balcony level. The lantern room is located at the top on the sixth deck. This housed the original Fresnel lens, made by Barbier & Fenstre in Paris in 1884, which is now on display at the Grice House and Museum in Harbor Beach. Next to the Harbor Beach lighthouse was a small wooden building, which contained equipment to operate the fog signal (see undated USCG photo above), but was removed when the light was automated. There is a diaphone

Diaphone

For Diaphone, the Noctuid moth species see Diaphone The diaphone was a noisemaking device best known for its use as a foghorn: it could produce deep, powerful tones able to carry a long distance...

in place.

The Great Storm of 1913 substantially undermined the pier's foundation, necessitating repairs.

Current activities

Today, the lighthouse is automated and operated remotely, year round, by the United States Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

in Saginaw, Michigan

Saginaw, Michigan

Saginaw is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw was once a thriving lumber town and manufacturing center. Saginaw and Saginaw County lie in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan...

, and is a welcome sight for the many recreational boaters and commercial fishermen that travel Lake Huron

Lake Huron

between Port Huron

Port Huron

Port Huron is the name of a city and a township in St. Clair County, Michigan. See:* Port Huron, Michigan* Port Huron Township, MichiganSee also:* Port Huron Statement...

and the Saginaw Bay

Saginaw Bay

Saginaw Bay is a bay within Lake Huron located on the eastern side of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms the space between Michigan's Thumb region and the rest of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Saginaw Bay is in area...

area. In 1967, the fourth order Fresnel lens was removed, and replaced with a 300 mm Vega acrylic optic. The light and fog signal have been solar-powered since 2006. The light is powered with a 20,000 candlepower bulb and the red beam flashes every seven seconds with a visibility of 16 miles (25.7 km). A fog signal is available by calling channel 79, and keying five times, causing the fog signal to sound with a three second blast every thirty seconds, which will continue for forty-five minutes.

The City of Harbor Beach is now the owner of the Harbor Beach Lighthouse. Ceremonies to transfer ownership of the historic structure took place in Traverse City on June 16, 2010. A local ceremony took place July 31, 2010. The Harbor Beach Lighthouse Preservation Society (HBLPS) was formed in 1984 and restoration is ongoing. The lighthouse has been water-proofed, ventilated, and its floors, interior walls, and windows restored to original appearance.

The Light is 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...

, Reference #83000850
HARBOR BEACH LIGHTHOUSE (U.S. COAST GUARD/GREAT LAKES TR), and is also on the State List.

Getting there

From

M-25

M-25 (Michigan highway)

M-25 is a state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan. The route follows an arc-like shape closely along the Lake Huron shore of the Thumb in the eastern Lower Peninsula between Port Huron and Bay City. It serves the lakeshore resorts along Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay and generally lies...

(Huron Avenue) in Harbor Beach, turn east on Trescott Street and follow to its end at Bathing Beach Park. A good, distant shot of the lighthouse is available from the end of Trescott pier. In addition, the Marina and Waterworks Park, on the north end of the city, offers a good view of the lighthouse.

Lighthouse and harbor timeline

Lighthouse and Harbor Timeline
Date	Event
1872	Sand Beach Selected for a harbor of refuge.
1873	Construction begins on the breakwall. Jenks and Co. builds a dock in the harbor.
1876	The first lighthouse is constructed. It is a skeletal structure with a lamp room and one other small room below. Willis Graves is the first light keeper. Between 1877 and 1899, 47,460 ships took shelter in the Sand Beach Harbor of Refuge.
1878	Loren Trescott appointed Light Keeper. He remained the keeper for 34 years.
1880	Lamp converted to kerosene; burned as bright, but less expensive than lard oil.
1881	Sand Beach Life Saving Station built.
1882	Captain Wagstaff appointed Harbor Master.
1884	Foundation for new light house built west of the breakwall, north of the main entrance.
1885	Current lighthouse built, original light moved to north entrance. South pier light established.
1898	Captain Rice appointed Harbor Master.
1899	Sand Beach renamed to Harbor Beach.
1904	After years of repairing storm damage, the wood superstructure was replaced with concrete.
1909	Life Saving Station moved to the Jenks Dock.
1913	Storm of November 1913 does $300,000 damage to the breakwall. Hundreds of sailors killed as their ships sink or are destroyed.
1914	Illuminating apparatus within the lens was upgraded from oil wick to incandescent oil vapor.
1919	The 10" steam boilers and 10 inches (254 mm) whistles were removed from the fog signal building and replaced by a pair of Type "F" diaphones.
1920	U.S. Coast Guard takes over Harbor Master duties. Archibald Davidson appointed lighthouse keeper.
1935	U.S. Coast Guard station built 300 yards (274.3 m) off shore in the harbor. Otto Both appointed Lighthouse keeper.
1935	Installation of a radio beacon at the station.
1940	Thomas Radcliff appointed Lighthouse keeper. Later in the decade the Coast Guard takes over operation of the lighthouse.
1967	The lighthouse is operated remotely from shore. Last year for anyone to live in the lighthouse.
1984	The Harbor Beach Lighthouse and Breakwall Preservation Society formed.
1987	Another storm damaged the lighthouse and breakwater, causing several millions of dollars in damage.
1988	Repairs were completed. Canadian Vicki Keith Vicki Keith Vicki Keith, CM, O.Ont is a retired Canadian marathon swimmer.She currently holds 16 world records and has received over 41 honours and awards, having crossed many of the world's most challenging bodies of water. To date, she has raised over $1 million CAD to help children with physical disabilities... started from Harbor Beach in her historic swim across 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... .
1996	The Original Fourth Order Fresnel Lens was replaced.
1999	The Coast Guard restored the crib foundation.

External links

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