Huron Lightship
Encyclopedia
The United States lightship Huron (LV-103) is a lightvessel
Lightvessel
A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship which acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction...
that was launched in 1920. It is now a museum ship
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
moored in Pine Grove Park, Port Huron
Port Huron, Michigan
Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administratively autonomous. It is joined by the Blue Water Bridge over the St. Clair River to Sarnia,...
, St. Clair County
St. Clair County, Michigan
-Interstates:* I-69 enters the county from the west, coming from Lansing and Flint, terminating at the approach to the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron....
, 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"....
.
Great Lakes lightships
The Huron Lightship is one of many lightvessels that plied the waters of 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...
.
In 1832 the first lightship on the Great Lakes
Great 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...
was placed at Waugoshance Shoal. That wooden light ship was the Lois McLain. In 1851 she was replaced by the Waugoshance Light
Waugoshance Light
The lighthouse at Waugoshance protects boats from a shoal area at the northern end of Lake Michigan. The lighthouse is located in Emmet County, Michigan, United States, and in U.S. Coast Guard District No. 9.-Reason for lighthouse:...
, which is at one of the most hazardous areas near the Straits of Mackinac
Straits of Mackinac
The Straits of Mackinac is the strip of water that connects two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and separates the Lower Peninsula of Michigan from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is a shipping lane providing passage for raw materials and finished goods, connecting, for...
, 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...
, Huron was the third ship to be placed at Corsica Shoals, a station established in 1893, replacing a gas buoy that was "somewhat ineffective". Three vessels bore the designation of Huron Lightship' from 1893 to 1970. The first was Lightship No. 61, a wooden-hulled ship, painted red with white lettering saying "Corsica Shoals" on her sides. No. 61 served from September 1893 until 1921. She was lost during the November Great Lakes Storm of 1913
Great Lakes Storm of 1913
The Great Lakes Storm of 1913, historically referred to as the "Big Blow", "Jeff Kinsland's Wash," the "Freshwater Fury" or the "White Hurricane", was a blizzard with hurricane-force winds that devastated the Great Lakes Basin in the Midwestern United States and the Canadian province of Ontario...
, which destroyed at least 12 ships and over 250 lives. That lightship was torn from its moorings and forced onto Point Edward on the Canadian shore. Its being off the assigned site was a contributing factor in the loss of the Matthew Andrews at Corsica Shoals. In any event, she was reclaimed and repaired, and remained in service until 1920, when she was retired and sold at auction.
In the same storm, Lightship LV 82 Buffalo foundered near Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
in Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
, with the loss of six lives. See Shipwrecks of the 1913 Great Lakes storm
Shipwrecks of the 1913 Great Lakes storm
This is a list of shipwrecks during the Great Lakes Storm of 1913.-References:*Brown, David G. . White Hurricane. International Marine / McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-138037-X.*-External links:***...
and List of victims of the 1913 Great Lakes storm. LV82 was salvaged and saw service with the Coast Guard until 1936.
In 1921, Lightship No. 61 was replaced by Lightship No. 96, the first vessel to actually be called Huron Lightship.
In 1925, there were ten lightvessels on the Great Lakes. 15 years later, that was reduced down to one, the Huron.
A list of Great Lakes lightvessel assignments is available.
Lightship No. 103 construction and service
Huron was built in the Consolidated Shipbuilding Company in Morris Heights, New York. Her keel was laid in 1918 and completed at a cost of $147,428. At 96.5 feet (29.4 m) long, 24 feet (7.3 m) in the beam, drawing 9.5 feet (2.9 m), and weighing 312 tons, Ship #103 was powered by a single compound reciprocating steam engine, driven by two coal-fired Scotch boilers. They put out 175 hp.Commissioned in 1921 as Lightship Number 103, it operated primarily in southern 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...
near 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 mouth of the St. Clair River
St. Clair River
The St. Clair River is a river in central North America which drains Lake Huron into Lake St Clair, forming part of the international boundary between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan...
. Huron spent the 1924, 1925, 1926 and 1929 seasons lighting Grays Reef. She was assigned in 1934 and 1935 seasons to the North Manitou Shoal. In 1935 she was transferred to the Eleventh District for one year, seeing duty as a relief ship. In 1935, the Huron was repainted (with "Huron" on her sides, starboard side painted red and the port side painted black) and transferred to Corsica Shoals, approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) north of the Blue Water Bridge
Blue Water Bridge
The Blue Water Bridge is a twin-span international bridge across the St. Clair River that links Port Huron, Michigan, USA and Sarnia, Ontario, Canada...
(connecting 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 Sarnia
Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada . It is the largest city on Lake Huron and is located where the upper Great Lakes empty into the St. Clair River....
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada.)
The Huron was equipped with one acetylene lens lantern, 300 mm, a 10" steam whistle fog horn, and a hand operated bell
After 1945 as the Huron, she was the only lightship that was painted black.
In 1948, she was refitted to diesel power with twin six-cylinder GM 6-71 engines at the Defoe Shipbuilding Company
Defoe Shipbuilding Company
The Defoe Shipbuilding Company was a small ship builder established in 1905 in Bay City, Michigan, USA. It ceased to operate in 1976 after failing to renew its contracts with the United States Navy. The site of the former company is now a scrapyard on the bank of the Saginaw River.-Founding:Harry J...
of West Bay City, Michigan
West Bay City, Michigan
West Bay City was a city in the U.S. state of Michigan.In 1905, West Bay City merged with Bay City, Michigan....
. The cost was $168,000. After this conversion, her top speed was nine knots.
On May 7, 1958, Coast Guardsman Robert Gullickson perished when a wave swamped a tender from the Huron Lightship that he was aboard. He is memorialized on the ship, as he was the only casualty during its many years of service.
On August 20, 1970, she weighed her anchor the last time from Corsica Shoal. She was decommissioned at Detroit on August 25. Upon decommissioning, she was replaced by an unmanned warning buoy light. Ownership of LV-103 was transferred to the City of Port Huron the following June.
Retirement, honors and museum service
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- National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, listed July 12, 1976 - National Historic LandmarkNational Historic LandmarkA National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
, listed December 20, 1989 - State Register, listed May 17, 1973
- State Historical Marker, erected 1973.
As an icon of the Great Lakes, a needlepoint illustration of Lightship No. 103 has been designed.
The ship is exceptionally well-preserved, and has an operable light and fog horn still on board. Her twin General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
diesel engines are fully operational, having been brought back to life through the efforts of volunteer mechanics. Amateur radio
Amateur radio
Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
station K8HLM operates from her. She is officially designated as Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society No. USA-394.
She was the last of her kind. It is the smallest surviving lightship, and is representative of the 96 feet (29.3 m) class.
Further reading
- "Light Vessel ‘No. 103.’" Lighthouse Service Bulletin II, 29 (May 1, 1920), p. 125; II, 37 (Jan 3, 1921), p. 161.
External links
- Absolute Michigan, The Lightship Huron: A Lighthouse that Floats.
- Blue Water Bridge and Huron Lightship Museum photograph.
- Clark, Sue, Lightship Huron’s Twin GM Diesels To Roar Again, including link to an interview and to hear the engines., Port Huron Times Herald.
- Detroit News, Huron Lightship.
- History of the Huron Lightship from the boatnerd website
- Huron Lightship Museum from the boatnerd website; includes photographic history and virtual tour.
- Huron Lightship page from Lighthouse Friends.
- Huron Lightship, museum photo gallery.
- Interactive map, list, information for lighthouses in North and West Lake Huron. (Includes photo of Huron lightship, black side.)
- List of Lightships remaining today
- Lighthouse Central, Photographs, History, Directions and Way points for United States lightship Huron (LV-103), The Ultimate Guide to East Michigan Lighthouses by Jerry Roach (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - July 2006). ISBN 0974797715; ISBN 9780974797717.
- Michigan lighthouse fund, Huron lightship.
- Night Beacon page on Huron Lightship/
- Port Huron Museum information on the Huron Lightship (including hours and a virtual tour of the Lightship).
- Satellite view of Huron Lightship, Google earthGoogle EarthGoogle Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...
. - U.S. Coast Guard's "Lightships of the U. S. Government" site
- U.S. Coast Guard Vessel Designation:: LV 103/WAL 526.
- Wobser, Davie, Huron Lightship, Boatnerd,com.