The Peninsula Point Light is a

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 ...

located at the southern tip of the Stonington Peninsula in Bay de Noc township in

Delta County, Michigan Delta County is a county in the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,903. The county seat is Escanaba. The county was surveyed in 1843 and organized in 1861. Its name originates from 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 ...

historical documents have over the years listed the name of the site as both ''Peninsula Point'' and ''Point Peninsula''.

Service

The Stonington Peninsula juts into

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 ...

from the southern coast of Michigan's

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula b ...

at a key point along the shipping lanes to and from the docks of

Escanaba Escanaba ( ), commonly shortened to Esky, is a port city and the county seat of Delta County, Michigan, Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located on Little Bay de Noc in the state's Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula. The popu ...

and

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

, as a hazardous

shoal In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body ...

extends more than out into the lake, posing a hazard to shipping. Thus the light had two purposes: (1) it marked a turning point; and (2) it warned mariners away from the rocks and shallows. Danger was inherent in the confluence of

reefs 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 (non-living) processes such as deposition of sand or wave eros ...

and the shipping channels, through which

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

, along with other products were transported. "The U.S. Government recognized the need for a lighthouse on the peninsula to aid navigation around these dangerous shoals and reefs separating

Big Bay de Noc Big Bay de Noc is a bay in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The bay, which opens into Lake Michigan's Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay, is enclosed by Delta County, Michigan, Delta County. The Gard ...

Little Bay de Noc Little Bay de Noc is a bay in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The bay opens into Lake Michigan's Green Bay. The bay, consisting of approximately 30,000 acres (120 km2), is enclosed by Delta County. The cities of Esca ...

, and Green Bay of Lake Michigan." Although Congress voted funds to build the lighthouse founded in 1856,Roach, Jerry, Lighthouse Central, History and Waypoints of Peninsula Point Light.''The Ultimate Guide to Upper Michigan Lighthouses'' by Jerry Roach.
(Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - 2007). . funds were again appropriated for the building of a lighthouse on the Stonington Peninsula on July 20, 1864. It was not built until 1865 following the

United States Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded ...

. It maintained as an active aid to navigation until 1934. Point Peninsula Light's first keeper was Mr. Charles Beggs, who died there in 1887. The second keeper was Mr. Henry Corgan. Mr. Peter Knutsen was third. In 1889 Captain James D. Armstrong was appointed keeper and this was home to him and his family until 1922. In 1922, the United States Lighthouse Service installed an automatic

acetylene Acetylene (Chemical nomenclature, systematic name: ethyne) is a chemical compound with the formula and structure . It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is u ...

light to replace the hand-operated oil lamp. Thus, it was no longer necessary to occupy the site since the light was automated. Captain Armstrong continued to be responsible for Peninsula Point until 1931. Thereafter, the fourth-order lens was removed from the lantern and replaced by a lens equipped with a 300-

candlepower Candlepower (abbreviated as cp or CP) is a unit of measurement for luminous intensity. It expresses levels of light intensity relative to the light emitted by a candle of specific size and constituents. The historical candlepower is equal to 0.981 ...

acetylene flasher

Dalén light A Dalén light is a flashing light produced from burning of carbide gas (acetylene), combined with a solar sensor which automatically operates the light only during darkness. Overview In the last quarter of the 19th century navigation buoys bega ...

and sun valve. Upon this installation, the light's characteristic was changed to repeated 1-second flash followed by a nine-second eclipse, exhibited initially on the evening of May 20, 1922. When the Minneapolis Shoal Light Station went into service. this light was decommissioned and abandoned in 1936.Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses.

Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on February ...

. In 1937, the USDA-Forest Service was granted custodianship. The building was repaired and public picnic grounds were constructed by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

. The Stonington Grange took over maintenance of the structure and grounds. In 1949 the Grange won first prize in their State contest for their work at the lighthouse. The house portion burned to the ground in 1959. Debris was cleared and damage to the north side of the tower repaired in 1962 by the USDA Forest Service. Its tower is open for visitors to climb into the

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

lantern room at the top of a cast-iron spiral staircase.

Current status

The light is listed on the National Register of Historical Places, Reference #75000941, Name of Listing: PENINSULA POINT LIGHTHOUSE. It is not listed on the state registry.

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 ...

br>Maritime Heritage Program National Park Service, Inventory of Historic Lighthouses, Peninsula Point Light.
/ref> The lighthouse tower is managed by the National Forest Service, which maintains
webpage
for the light and picnic area.

Bird and butterfly migrations

Because of their placement on points of land, lighthouses are often situated on migratory pathways, and are so-called 'bird traps.' See Whitefish Point Light and Tawas Point Light. The Stonington Peninsula plays a crucial role in the migration of

monarch butterflies The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (''Danaus plexippus'') is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. ...

, which gather there in September before migrating across

Door County, Wisconsin Door County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 30,066. Its seat of government is Sturgeon Bay. It is named after the strait between the Door Peninsula and Washington Island. ...

. In the fall, thousands of monarch butterflies converge on the area to rest before their migration across Green Bay. It has been called the Point Pelee of the

, and is an

important bird area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

. The location is also an important location for

migratory birds Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality. The ...

, and has been deemed to be a successful effort by the Hiawatha National Forest. The area is said to be a rock hound's paradise. "The rocky shoreline yields fossils estimated at 400-500 million years old."

Getting there

The USDA Forest Service operates the grounds as a

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...

area. There are ten tables and grills on the lawns surrounding the tower. Pit toilets are available, as well as drinking water. The light tower is located at the end of County Road 513 from US 2, about east of

Rapid River, Michigan Rapid River is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Masonville Township, Michigan, Masonville Township, Delta County, Michigan, Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the northern end of the Little Bay de N ...

. The road that "progressively gets narrower and rougher, but the climb up the spiral staircase and the view from the ten-sided tower (which is open to the public), and "is worth the trip." The view is said to be "spectacular" so "Be sure to bring you camera." The road's last mile is "not recommended for recreational vehicles or trailers over long or high." A parking area for RV's is available at the beginning of the narrowing road.

Notes

External links

Peninsula Point lighthouse and picnic area
- official site at Hiawatha National Forest
Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses