Gravelly Shoals Light is an automated

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 ...

that is an active

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 ...

on the shallow shoals extending southeast from Point Lookout on the western side of

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. It is located in parts ...

. The light is situated about offshore and was built to help guide boats through the deeper water between the southeast end of Gravelly Shoals and Charity Island. Architecturally this is considered to be

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style.

History

As part of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Roosevelt's

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

and its program to "Put America Back to Work" the new light tower was put up for bid, and built in 1939. It replaced an earlier gas-lit buoy. It also displaced the Charity Island Light,Bostwick, Violet M., ''Charity Island Light''

Boatnerd.com The Boatnerd corporation is a registered not-for-profit corporation intended to spread information about vessels that ply the North American Great Lakes. Services The organization holds annual festivals at sites of interest to those interes ...

. which was constructed in 1857, and operated until 1930. Contemporary unmanned lights in the Art Deco style are the Indiana Harbor East Breakwater Light and its twin, the better known Port Washington Breakwater Light in Wisconsin. When built according to its original specifications, the contractor warned that the foundation was inadequate to withstand the buildup of ice, and put in a bid for a contract modification. However, at the time jurisdiction over the light had just been transferred to the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

from the

United States Lighthouse Service The United States Lighthouse Service, also known as the Bureau of Lighthouses, was the agency of the United States Government and the general lighthouse authority for the United States from the time of its creation in 1910 as the successor of th ...

, and they chose to disregard the warning, and to accept the light as built. This resulted in substantial additional expense in due course, as the light had to be retrofitted. This light is designed as an autonomous automated electrified station. It is under the control and maintenance of

Station in

Tawas City, Michigan Tawas City is a city in and county seat of Iosco County, Michigan, Iosco County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,834 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is mostly surrounded by Tawas Township, Michigan, Taw ...

. Ordinarily it displays a 15,000 candela light powered by a 120 volt electric lamp. Power is supplied through a submarine cable, which crosses the shoal from Point Lookout. The focal plane makes its flash (1-second every 5 seconds) visible for . It is supplemented by a standby 110 candela acetylene light with a half second flash every three seconds—which activates automatically if there is a power failure. In foggy weather, mariners are warned by twin compressed-air two-tone #3

diaphone The diaphone is a noisemaking device best known for its use as a foghorn: It can produce deep, powerful tones, able to carry a long distance. Although they have fallen out of favor, diaphones were also used at some fire stations and in other situ ...

s, which operate on a 30-second cycle (3-second blast followed by 27 seconds of silence). The National Data Buoy Center lists the Site Elevation as above sea level; an automatic readout for wind, waves and weather is operated there. The

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

operates an automated weather observing station at the lighthouse. An added large steel tower atop the light is a radio beacon. The 1953 Coast Guard Light List indicates that the signal transmitted at 296 kHz, send forth a group of half-second dashes for 15.5 seconds, followed by 14½ seconds of silence. As of 2001, both the light and radio beacon served as active navigational aids. Although it never had a resident

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 ...

, this light is a recognized 'significant light" 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 ...

National Maritime Initiative. In July of 2015, the light was for sale through an online GSA auction process.

Viewing

A good passing view of the light can be had while riding the ferry from Au Gres to Charity Island, which is to the east in the middle of

. Tours of Charity Island are available, which include seeing the rebuilt Charity Island Light lightkeeper's house (currently an Airbnb) and seeing the native plants and birds on the western part of the island. More information about a tour to Charity Island can be found at CharityIsland.net. It is also possible to take a

telephoto A telephoto lens, also known as telelens, is a specific type of a long-focus lens used in photography and cinematography, in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length. This is achieved by incorporating a special lens ...

shot from the shore of mainland Arenac County. US 23

US 23 U.S. Route 23 or U.S. Highway 23 (US 23) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway between Jacksonville, Florida, and Mackinaw City, Michigan. It is an original 1926 route which originally reached only as far south a ...

north from Au Gres, to Point Lookout Road. Turn right to its end; turn left onto Michigan Ave. Through a break in the houses one can see Saginaw Bay and the light.

Notes

and President of the American Lighthouse Foundation), (September, 2009) ''Ghost Lights of Michigan'' (Rare historic images and text on Michigan's lost and obscure lighthouse, including bonus chapters on lightships and lighthouse tenders.) East Machias, Maine: Foghorn Publishing, . * Hyde, Charles K., and Ann and John Mahan. ''The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes.'' Detroit:

Wayne State University Press Wayne State University Press (or WSU Press) is a university press that is part of Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 186 ...

, 1995. .
Map of Michigan Lighthouse
in PDF Format.

Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy.

Michigan Lighthouse Fund.
Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy.
* Oleszewski, Wes, ''Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses'', (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) . * Penrod, John. ''Lighthouses of Michigan'', (Berrien Center, Michigan: Penrod/Hiawatha, 1998) . * Penrose, Laurie and Penrose, Bill ''Traveler's Guide to 116 Michigan Lighthouses'', Petoskey, Michigan: Friede Publications, 1999. . * Pepper, Terry, President Great Lakes Lightkeepers Association

* Roach, Jerry
Lighthouse Central, Michigan Lighthouses.
**
The Ultimate Guide to East Michigan Lighthouses
'. Bugs Publishing, 2006. ; . **
The Ultimate Guide to Upper Michigan Lighthouses
'. Bugs Publishing, 2007. . **
The Ultimate Guide to West Michigan Lighthouses
'. Bugs Publishing, 2005. . * Sapulski, Wayne S., (2001) ''Lighthouses of Lake Michigan: Past and Present'' (Paperback) (Fowlerville: Wilderness Adventure Books) ; . * Splake, T. Kilgore. ''Superior Land Lights''. Battle Creek, MI: Angst Productions, 1984. * * Wagner, John L.

. Clarke Historical Library,

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

. * Wagner, John L., ''Michigan Lighthouses: An Aerial Photographic Perspective'', (East Lansing, Michigan: John L. Wagner, 1998) . * Wargin, Ed, ''Legends of Light: A Michigan Lighthouse Portfolio''. Ann Arbor Media Group, 2006. . * Wobser, David
Lighthouses of the Great Lakes
,

boatnerd.com The Boatnerd corporation is a registered not-for-profit corporation intended to spread information about vessels that ply the North American Great Lakes. Services The organization holds annual festivals at sites of interest to those interes ...

. * Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, ''Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia'' Boston Mills Press, 2006. .

External links

*
Interactive map of lighthouses in area
by LighthousesRus
Map of Michigan Lighthouses
from Michigan.gov
National Buoy Data Center with automatic readout of wind, waves and weather for Gravelly Shoal Light.Photograph of Coast Guard boat at Gravelly Shoal, circa 1942, Archives of Michigan.
{{authority control Lighthouses in Michigan Art Deco architecture in Michigan Buildings and structures in Arenac County, Michigan Transportation in Arenac County, Michigan Saginaw Bay

History

Viewing

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links