Au Sable Light is an active

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

in the

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a U.S. National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States. It extends for along the shore of Lake Superior and covers . The park has extensive views of the h ...

west of

Grand Marais, Michigan Grand Marais ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Alger County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located within Burt Township on the shores of Lake Superior, and the community is the eastern gateway to ...

off H-58. Until 1910, this

aid to navigation In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. The ...

was called "Big Sable Light" (not to be confused with Big Sable Point LightNational Park Service Maritime History Project, Inventory of Historic Light Stations, Au Sable Light.
/ref> near

Ludington, Michigan Ludington ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat and the largest city in Mason County, Michigan, Mason County. The population was 7,655 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the fourth largest city i ...

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

or Little Sable Point Light south of

Pentwater, Michigan Pentwater is a Village (United States), village in Oceana County, Michigan, Oceana County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 890 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The village is located within Pentwater Township, Michi ...

History

The Au Sable Light Station was built in 1874 on Au Sable Point, a well known hazard on Lake Superior's "shipwreck coast". The Au Sable Point

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

is a shallow ridge of sandstone that in places is only below the surface and extends nearly into Lake Superior. The Au Sable Point reef was one of the greatest dangers facing ships coasting along the south shore of Lake Superior during the early shipping days when keeping land in sight was the main navigational method. The Au Sable Point reef was known as a "ship trap" that ensnared many ships, including the passenger ship ''Lady Elgin'' which was stranded there in 1859. The shoreline in this area is considered one of North America's most beautiful, "but in the 1800s it was considered one of the most deadly because of unpredictable features below the surface and violent storms and blinding fogs above." The reef extends nearly a mile out as a ridge of sandstone a few feet below the surface. The shallow water caught many a vessel following the shore. Turbulence was common when the lake was "pushed in by violent storms out of the north and northwest." Thick fogs resulted form the mix of frigid lake air and warmth from the sand dunes. "As early as 1622, French explorers called the region 'most dangerous when there is any storms'."Wobser, David, "Au Sable Point Light" Boatnerd.com.
Additionally, the location was chosen to eliminate a "dark spot" in the stretch between Granite Island Light and

Whitefish Point Light The Whitefish Point Light is a lighthouse located in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located on the southeastern shores of Lake Superior, it sits at the edge of Whitefish Point leading to Whitefish Bay. Constructed in 1849 by c ...

.Lighthouse Central, Au Sable Point Lighthouse, ''The Ultimate Guide to Upper Michigan Lighthouses'' by Jerry Roach
(Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC – 2007). . The lighthouse tower and attached keepers' quarters were designed by Colonel Orlando Metcalfe Poe. In this capacity he designed eight "Poe style lighthouses" and oversaw construction of several. Poe was named District Engineer for the Eleventh Lighthouse District, Those lights are

New Presque Isle Light The New Presque Isle Light was built in 1870, at Presque Isle Township, Michigan, Presque Isle, Michigan, east of Grand Lake (Presque Isle, Michigan), Grand Lake, and sits on the namesake peninsula. It is one of 149 lighthouses in Michigan, more ...

(1870) on

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

's South Manitou Island Light (1872), Grosse Point Light (1873) in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

's Au Sable Light (1874),

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...

's Wind Point Light (1880); Outer Island Light (1874) in the

Apostle Islands The Apostle Islands are a group of 22 islands in Lake Superior, off the Bayfield Peninsula in northern Wisconsin. The majority of the islands are located in Ashland County, Wisconsin, Ashland County—only Sand, York, Eagle, and Raspberry Isl ...

, Little Sable Point Light (1874) on Lake Michigan,

Manistique, Michigan Manistique ( ') is the only city and county seat of Schoolcraft County, Michigan, Schoolcraft County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population was 2,828. The city borders the adjacent ...

Seul Choix Light The Seul Choix Light is a lighthouse located in the northwest corner of Lake Michigan in Schoolcraft County, Michigan. The station was established in 1892 with a temporary light, and this light started service in 1895, and was fully automated i ...

(1895) and

Spectacle Reef Light Spectacle Reef Light is a lighthouse east of the Straits of Mackinac and is located at the northern end of Lake Huron, Michigan. It was designed and built by Colonel Orlando Metcalfe Poe and Major Godfrey Weitzel, and was the most expensive lig ...

. The tower is a white brick conical tower with a black lantern. A red brick lightkeeper's house stands next to the lighthouse. It originally had a third-order

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens (optics), lens which reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections. The simpler Dioptrics, d ...

, which is now on display at the light station. The lighthouse was automated in 1958 and is currently equipped with a

solar-powered Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to conve ...

light. A wooden boathouse was added in 1875; the

fog signal A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. ...

building was added in 1897; the keepers' quarters were converted to a duplex in 1909; and the steel oil house was raised in 1915. There is also a second brick Keepers house (1909), a kerosene storage shed (1895), two brick

outhouse An outhouse — known variously across the English-speaking world otherwise as bog, dunny, long-drop, or privy — is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket ...

s (1874/1909), a wooden

woodshed A shed is typically a simple, single-storey (though some sheds may have two or more stories and or a loft) roofed structure, often used for storage, for hobbies, or as a workshop, and typically serving as outbuilding, such as in a back garde ...

and

boathouse A boathouse (or a boat house) is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. describing the facilities These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats ...

(1875), a brick cistern, and a two vehicle wood frame garage (1954). Most of these buildings are still extant; only one outhouse remains standing. The keeper's house was renovated. A visitor center is on the lower floor and an apartment for volunteer caretakers on the upper floor. In 1996, the original Third Order Fresnel lens was returned to the tower after 39 years on display at the Pictured Rocks Nautical and Maritime Museum, also known as the Grand Marais Maritime Museum in Grand Marais. However, it is an external 300 mm lens that is operative. The

steam whistle A steam whistle is a device used to produce sound in the form of a whistle using live steam, which creates, projects, and amplifies its sound by acting as a vibrating system. Operation The whistle consists of the following main parts, as s ...

and

airhorn An air horn is a pneumatic device designed to create an extremely loud noise for signaling purposes. It usually consists of a source which produces compressed air, which passes into a horn through a reed or diaphragm. The stream of air cause ...

have been removed. Nevertheless, the "boarded lantern area is an impressive sight." The lighthouse tower is open to the public in summer. The complex was maintained by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

, and the automated light continues to be operated by the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

. The National Park Service's stated goal is to continue to maintain the lighthouse complex to its 1909–10 appearance, during its first year of operation as a two-person

Lighthouse keeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a 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. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

station. The Light Station is part of the National Park Service's Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The Au Sable Light Station is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, #78000374. To visit this light, take H-58 from the Hurricane River Campground, which is west of

. From the Campground the lighthouse is a walk on a sand trail.Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Au Sable Point Light
. Terrypepper.com.Anderson, Kraig, Lighthouse Friends, Au Sable Lighthouse
. Lighthousefriends.com.

References

External links

* *
Aerial photos, Au Sable Light, marinas.com.

*

ttps://www.nps.gov/piro/learn/historyculture/ausablelightstation.htm Au Sable Point Light Station web page.
Photograph of the Au Sable Point Lighthouse and Lifesaving Station (ca. 1920), Michigan History, Arts and Libraries archive.

Satellite view, Au Sable Point Light by

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panorama, interactive panoramic views of streets (Google Street View, Street View ...

.
Au Sable Light Station - United States Lighthouses
{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1874 Houses completed in 1874 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Alger County, Michigan Museums in Alger County, Michigan Lighthouse museums in Michigan Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Michigan State Historic Sites 1874 establishments in Michigan

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links