The United States lightship ''Huron'' (LV-103) is a

lightvessel A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. It is used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, the ...

that was launched in 1920. She is now a

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

moored in Pine Grove Park,

Port Huron Port Huron is a city in and seat of government of St. Clair County, Michigan, United States. The population was 28,983 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the west by Port Huron Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Por ...

, St. Clair County,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Great Lakes lightships

''Huron'' is one of many lightvessels that were moored on the waters of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

. In 1832 the first lightship on the Great Lakes was placed at Waugoshance Shoal. That wooden light ship was the ''Lois McLain''. In 1851 she was replaced by the

Waugoshance Light The ruined 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. It is approximately west of ...

, which is at one of the most hazardous areas near the

Straits of Mackinac The Straits of Mackinac ( ; ) are the short waterways between the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas, traversed by the Mackinac Bridge. The main strait is wide with a maximum depth of , and connects the Great Lakes of Lake M ...

. In

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 ...

, ''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. ''Lightship No. 61'' served from September 1893 until 1921. She was lost during the November

Great Lakes Storm of 1913 The Great Lakes Storm of 1913, historically referred to as the Big Blow, the Freshwater Fury and the White Hurricane, was a blizzard with hurricane-force winds that devastated the Great Lakes Basin in the Midwestern United States and Southwest ...

, which destroyed at least 12 ships and over 250 lives, when she was torn from her moorings and forced onto Point Edward on the Canadian shore. The grounding of ''Lightship No. 61'' 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 ''Buffalo'' (LV-82) foundered near

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

, with the loss of six lives. See Shipwrecks of the 1913 Great Lakes storm and List of victims of the 1913 Great Lakes storm. ''Buffalo'' 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. Fifteen years later, only ''Huron'' remained. A list of Great Lakes lightvessel assignments is available.

Lightship No. 103 construction and service

''Huron'' was built by the Consolidated Shipbuilding Company in Morris Heights, New York. Her keel was laid in 1918 and completed at a cost of $147,428. At long, in the beam, drawing , 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 . Commissioned in 1921 as ''Lightship Number 103'', she operated primarily in southern

near

and the mouth of the

St. Clair River The St. Clair River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 7, 2011 river in central North America which flows from Lake Huron into Lake St. Clair, forming part ...

. ''Huron'' spent the 1924, 1925, 1926 and 1929 seasons lighting

Grays Reef Grays or Greys may refer to: Places * Grays Bay, Nunavut, Canada * Grays, Essex, a town in Essex, England ** Grays railway station ** Grays School * Grays, Kent, a hamlet in Kent, England * Rotherfield Greys or Greys, a village in Oxfordshire, E ...

. 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, ''Huron'' was repainted black with "Huron" on her sides, and transferred to Corsica Shoals, approximately north of the

Blue Water Bridge The Blue Water Bridge is a twin-span international bridge across the St. Clair River that links Port Huron, Michigan, United States, and Point Edward, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Water Bridge connects Highway 402 in Ontario with both Interst ...

(connecting

and

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada.) ''Huron'' was equipped with one acetylene lens lantern, , a steam whistle

fog horn 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. ...

, and a hand-operated bell. After 1945 as ''Huron'', she was the only lightship that was painted black. In 1949, she was refitted to diesel power with twin six-cylinder GM 6-71 engines at the

Defoe Shipbuilding Company The Defoe Shipbuilding Company was a small ship builder established in 1905 in Bay City, Michigan, United States. It ceased to operate in 1976 after failing to renew its contracts with the United States Navy. The site of the former company is ...

of West Bay City, Michigan. The cost was $168,000. After this conversion, her top speed was . On 7 May 1958, Seaman Robert Gullickson, U.S. Coast Guard, perished when a wave swamped a tender from ''Huron'' Lightship that he was aboard. He is memorialized on the ship, as he was the only casualty during her 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 ''Huron'' was transferred to the City of Port Huron the following June.

Retirement, honors and museum service

The following honors have been indicated: *

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 ...

, listed 12 July 1976 *

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

, listed 20 December 1989 * State Register, listed 17 May 1973 * State Historical Marker, erected 1973. The ship is exceptionally well-preserved, and has an operable light and

still on board. Her twin

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

diesel engines The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the die ...

are fully operational, having been brought back to life through the efforts of volunteer mechanics. including a link to hear the engines.

Amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency radio spectrum, spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emer ...

station NM8GS named the "NMGS Radio Group" operates from her. NM8GS is a take on the original visual and radio navy call sign, NMGS, the ship held when it was in operation. She is officially designated as

Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History His ...

No. USA-394. The engines suffered damage as the ship awaited transfer to state ownership. The pistons and cylinders were restored through the contributions and efforts of local companies and volunteers. They powered every part of the ship, from lighting to fog horn. To keep them in working order, they are operated every thirty days. She was the last of her kind. It is the smallest surviving lightship, and is representative of the class.

Notes

External links

Great Lakes lightships

Lightship No. 103 construction and service

Retirement, honors and museum service

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links