Saginaw River Lighthouse
Encyclopedia
The Saginaw Bay Lighthouse was first erected in September 1831. During this time period, a large quantity of lumber was being exported from the heart of Michigan
to the eastern coast of the United States (traveling through the Erie Canal
.)
arrived to dredge out the Saginaw River
channel so that larger vessels could navigate the river. When they were finished, the light was no longer well-positioned to allow boats navigation of the entrance. Funding requests, negotiations for land, and contractual issues delayed work until 1876, when a pair of lighthouses could be erected in a range light configuration.
The front range light was constructed on a square timber crib beside the western river bank, and took the form of a 34 ft (10 m) tall painted-white pyramid framework of timber similar in design to that being used for pierhead beacons throughout the district at the time. With its upper half sheathed, a small enclosed room was thus created beneath the gallery for the storage of oil and supplies, and in which the keeper could seek shelter while tending the light during inclement weather conditions. The gallery was surrounded with an iron safety railing and capped with a prefabricated octagonal cast iron lantern. Seated atop a cast iron pedestal within the lantern, the light's sparkling new fixed white sixth order Fresnel lens
sat at a focal plane of 37 ft (11.3 m), sending its light 8½ nautical miles (16 km) out into the bay.
The rear range light was constructed 2300 feet (701 m) south of the mouth of the river. Eleventh district engineer Major
Godfrey Weitzel
's design for the combined rear range tower and dwelling was unique. Consisting of a large elevated concrete base supporting a combined brick dwelling and tower, the swampy ground in the chosen site first required the driving of timber piles deep into the ground to provide a solid foundation on which timber forms for the concrete base could be erected and filled. Atop this concrete foundation, a square two-story Cream City brick
Lighthouse keeper
's dwelling 26 in 6 in (8.08 m) in plan was constructed. Integrated into the northwest corner of the dwelling, a tapered 53 ft (16.2 m) tall square tower with double walls housed a set of prefabricated cast iron spiral stairs. Winding from the cellar to the lantern, these stairs also serve as the only means of access to the first and second floors by way of landings on each floor, each outfitted with tightly fitting arch-topped iron doors designed to stem the spread of fire between floors. A timber deck supported by timber columns encircled the dwelling at the first floor level, providing easy and dry access to all sides of the structure. The living quarters consisted of a kitchen, parlor and oil storage room on the first floor, and three bedrooms above. The tower was capped with a square iron gallery, supported by five cast iron corbel
s on each of its four sides. An octagonal cast iron lantern was installed at its center, with a fixed white fourth order Fresnel lens placed at a focal plane of 61 feet.
The range lights were converted to electricity in 1915.
The light stayed active, and the residence for the Coast Guard facility until the 1970s when the Coast Guard Station was moved across the river in order to have more space. The station stayed empty until 1986 when Dow Chemical Company
, which owned the surrounding land, purchased the facility and boarded it up. In 1999, the Saginaw River Maritime Historical Society (SRMHS) asked Dow if they could work together. At the current time, the property is not generally available, but renovation is being done by the SRMHS.
It is generally believed (but not well documented) that the Saginaw River lighthouse was the first place where range lights were installed. More details are available in the article on Lighthouse
s.
In 2002, the Saginaw Valley Marine Historical Society "acquired a historic locomotive-style range lens of the type used in the lighthouse between 1930 and 1960."
This lighthouse is listed in the National Register of Historic Places: Reference #84001373
Name of Listing: SAGINAW RIVER LIGHT STATION (U.S. COAST GUARD/GREAT LAKES TR) Restoration efforts are being conducted by: Saginaw River Marine Historical Society, Dept. W, P.O. Box 2051, Bay City, Michigan 48707-2051.
It is located on west of the Saginaw River about 2/3 mile (1.1 km) south of Saginaw Bay, north of Bay City. The site is unergoing renovation and is closed to the public.
According to US Government publication, "The American Practical Navigator", Chapter 5:
Range lights are light pairs that indicate a specific line of position when they are in line. The higher rear light is placed behind the front light. When the mariner sees the lights vertically in line, he is on the range line. If the front light appears left of the rear light, the observer is to the right of the range line; if the front appears to the right of the rear, the observer is left of the range line.http://pollux.nss.nima.mil/NAV_PUBS/APN/Chapt-05.pdf
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"....
to the eastern coast of the United States (traveling through the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
.)
History
In 1867, the U.S. Army Corp of EngineersUnited 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...
arrived to dredge out the Saginaw River
Saginaw River
The Saginaw River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is formed by the confluence of the Tittabawassee and Shiawassee rivers southwest of Saginaw. It flows northward into the Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron just northeast of Bay City. The watershed area is .The river is an important shipping...
channel so that larger vessels could navigate the river. When they were finished, the light was no longer well-positioned to allow boats navigation of the entrance. Funding requests, negotiations for land, and contractual issues delayed work until 1876, when a pair of lighthouses could be erected in a range light configuration.
The front range light was constructed on a square timber crib beside the western river bank, and took the form of a 34 ft (10 m) tall painted-white pyramid framework of timber similar in design to that being used for pierhead beacons throughout the district at the time. With its upper half sheathed, a small enclosed room was thus created beneath the gallery for the storage of oil and supplies, and in which the keeper could seek shelter while tending the light during inclement weather conditions. The gallery was surrounded with an iron safety railing and capped with a prefabricated octagonal cast iron lantern. Seated atop a cast iron pedestal within the lantern, the light's sparkling new fixed white sixth order Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
sat at a focal plane of 37 ft (11.3 m), sending its light 8½ nautical miles (16 km) out into the bay.
The rear range light was constructed 2300 feet (701 m) south of the mouth of the river. Eleventh district engineer Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Godfrey Weitzel
Godfrey Weitzel
Godfrey Weitzel was a major general in the Union army during the American Civil War, as well as the acting Mayor of New Orleans during the Federal occupancy of the city.-Early life and career:...
's design for the combined rear range tower and dwelling was unique. Consisting of a large elevated concrete base supporting a combined brick dwelling and tower, the swampy ground in the chosen site first required the driving of timber piles deep into the ground to provide a solid foundation on which timber forms for the concrete base could be erected and filled. Atop this concrete foundation, a square two-story Cream City brick
Cream City brick
Cream City brick is a cream or light yellow-colored brick made from a clay found around Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the Menomonee River Valley and on the western banks of Lake Michigan...
Lighthouse keeper
Lighthouse 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 dwelling 26 in 6 in (8.08 m) in plan was constructed. Integrated into the northwest corner of the dwelling, a tapered 53 ft (16.2 m) tall square tower with double walls housed a set of prefabricated cast iron spiral stairs. Winding from the cellar to the lantern, these stairs also serve as the only means of access to the first and second floors by way of landings on each floor, each outfitted with tightly fitting arch-topped iron doors designed to stem the spread of fire between floors. A timber deck supported by timber columns encircled the dwelling at the first floor level, providing easy and dry access to all sides of the structure. The living quarters consisted of a kitchen, parlor and oil storage room on the first floor, and three bedrooms above. The tower was capped with a square iron gallery, supported by five cast iron corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
s on each of its four sides. An octagonal cast iron lantern was installed at its center, with a fixed white fourth order Fresnel lens placed at a focal plane of 61 feet.
The range lights were converted to electricity in 1915.
The light stayed active, and the residence for the Coast Guard facility until the 1970s when the Coast Guard Station was moved across the river in order to have more space. The station stayed empty until 1986 when Dow Chemical Company
Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company is a multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. As of 2007, it is the second largest chemical manufacturer in the world by revenue and as of February 2009, the third-largest chemical company in the world by market capitalization .Dow...
, which owned the surrounding land, purchased the facility and boarded it up. In 1999, the Saginaw River Maritime Historical Society (SRMHS) asked Dow if they could work together. At the current time, the property is not generally available, but renovation is being done by the SRMHS.
It is generally believed (but not well documented) that the Saginaw River lighthouse was the first place where range lights were installed. More details are available in the article on Lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
s.
In 2002, the Saginaw Valley Marine Historical Society "acquired a historic locomotive-style range lens of the type used in the lighthouse between 1930 and 1960."
This lighthouse is listed in the National Register of Historic Places: Reference #84001373
Name of Listing: SAGINAW RIVER LIGHT STATION (U.S. COAST GUARD/GREAT LAKES TR) Restoration efforts are being conducted by: Saginaw River Marine Historical Society, Dept. W, P.O. Box 2051, Bay City, Michigan 48707-2051.
It is located on west of the Saginaw River about 2/3 mile (1.1 km) south of Saginaw Bay, north of Bay City. The site is unergoing renovation and is closed to the public.
According to US Government publication, "The American Practical Navigator", Chapter 5:
Range lights are light pairs that indicate a specific line of position when they are in line. The higher rear light is placed behind the front light. When the mariner sees the lights vertically in line, he is on the range line. If the front light appears left of the rear light, the observer is to the right of the range line; if the front appears to the right of the rear, the observer is left of the range line.http://pollux.nss.nima.mil/NAV_PUBS/APN/Chapt-05.pdf
External links
- A comprehensive (and interactive with geographic locations) listing of Michigan lighthouses and museums, complete with pictures and descriptions
- Huelse, Klaus -- Meine Leuchtturm-Seite: Leuchttürme USA auf historischen Postkarten -- Historic postcard images of U.S. lighthouses, Historic Post Card View of "Bay City Lighthouse" which is the Saginaw River Rear Range Light.
- Interactive map of lighthouses in area.
- Michigan Lighthouse organization.
- Map of Michigan Lighthouse in PDF Format.
- Saginaw River Marine Historical Society.
- Satellite view of Saginaw River Rear Range Light 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...
. - Wobser, David, Boatnerd.com Saginaw River Rear Range Lighthouse.
