The Round Island Light, also known as the Old Round Island Point Lighthouse, 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 on the west shore of Round Island in the shipping lanes of 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 ...

, which connect

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 ...

and

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 ...

. It was deemed necessary because the island is a significant hazard to navigation in the straits, and was seen as an effective complement to the other lights in the area. Because of its color scheme and form — red stone base and wood tower — it has been likened to an old-fashioned schoolhouse.

Ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

regularly pass it on their way to (and from)

Mackinac Island Mackinac Island ( , ; ; ; ) is an island and resort area, covering in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac and "Mitchimakinak" in Ojibwemowin, meaning "Great Turtle". It is located in ...

, and it is a recognizable icon of the upper

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 ...

History

This light is a twin of the Two Harbors Light in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. Located in Coast Guard District 9, the Round Island Light was built of painted

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

in 1895; its construction was funded by a predecessor agency of 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 ...

, and the structure was raised by a team led by Mackinac Island mason-carpenter

Frank Rounds Frank Russel Rounds (1861-1945) was an American carpenter, He lived on Mackinac Island and became known for building the Round Island Lighthouse - one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world. He built many Mackinac buildings, includi ...

. The structure served as an active, manned lighthouse and fog signal from 1895 to 1947. It was abandoned in 1947 and replaced by the Round Island Passage Light, an automated light tower located in the adjacent Round Island Channel.Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Round Island Light.
/ref> Abandoned, the lighthouse fell prey to plunderers and vandals. The structure's deterioration was almost complete in 1972 when a storm caused a corner of the lighthouse structure to collapse.Postcard – 1978 before restoration – at
Boatnerd This event spurred preservation efforts. Round Island Light was listed 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 ...

in September 1974, and was added to the list of registered Michigan historic sites in 1978. Emergency work to stabilize the light tower structure was conducted in the 1970s, but the light tower remained gutted and inoperative. Restoration work was conducted in 1995 by the Friends of the Round Island Lighthouse and led by the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association (GLLKA), aided by

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

Troop 323. The work was partially funded by the state of Michigan, with the help of funds from a special

license plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British, Indian and Australian English), license plate (American English) or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for ...

developed by the state to raise donations for lighthouse restoration. In 1973

rip rap Riprap (in North American English), also known as rip rap, rip-rap, shot rock, rock armour (in British English) or rubble, is human-placed rock or other material used to protect shoreline structures against scour and water, wave, or ice erosion ...

was spread around the lighthouse base to help prevent more deterioration. The following year, after it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, local fundraising efforts collected $12,000 for the project. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation appropriated $125,000 in 1977 for the project. As a result of the success of this restoration work, the Coast Guard granted permission to relight the Round Island Light. The light was re-lit in 1996. The original 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 ...

and oil house are still intact. The Round Island Light is a registered Michigan historic site and is the focus of an official Michigan Historical Marker erected in 1978, Registered Site No. L0107. The text of the marker notes: Mackinac Island topographic map-en

Getting there

Because Round Island is not accessible to most visitors (but it can be visited), the "Round Island Lighthouse" historical marker is located on Biddle's Point on nearby

, within easy view of the light tower. Photography of the light is possible if using a

telephoto lens 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 ...

. A private boat is the best way to see this light close up. Short of that, Sheplers Ferry Service out of Mackinaw City offers periodic lighthouse cruises in the summer season. Its "Eastbound Tour" includes passes by Round Island Light, Bois Blanc Island and

Light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

, Poe Reef Light and Fourteen Foot Shoal Light. Schedules and rates are available from Shepler's. An expensive but exciting alternative is to charter a

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

to tour the lights in the straits. Round Island Light is one of over 150 past and present lighthouses in Michigan. Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state. See

Lighthouses in the United States This is a list of lighthouses in the United States. The United States has had approximately a thousand lighthouses, lights as well as light towers, Leading lights, range lights, and pier head lights. Michigan has the most lights of any state wit ...

Light in popular culture

This lighthouse, with Biddle's Point on Mackinac Island, forms the finish line for the annual Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, run since 1898. The lighthouse was prominently featured in the 1980 movie '' Somewhere in Time''. The light's location makes it "somewhat of a wilderness" but it has been depicted in sculptures and even bird houses. Because of its picturesque color and form and its location near

(in the path of passing ferries) and the

Mackinac Bridge The Mackinac Bridge ( ; also referred to as the Mighty Mac or Big Mac) is a suspension bridge that connects the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper and Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. It spans the Str ...

, it is often the subject of photographs, and drawings. Even needlepoint illustrations have been created. It has long been the ongoing subject of

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. In some places, one can send a postcard f ...

s. A children's book written by Robert A. Lytle and Karen Howell is titled ''Mackinac Passage: Mystery at Round Island Light''.Lytle, Robert A. and Howell, Karen ''Mackinac Passage: Mystery at Round Island Light'' (Paperback) (Auburn Hills: Edco, 2001) ; .

References

External links

Round Island Lighthouse Preservation Society

Round Island Lighthouse history and many photos

Aerial photos, Round Island Light, marinas.com.
* ttp://www.lighthousefriends.com/macstraits.html Lighthouses in the Mackinac Straits.
Michigan in Pictures, Round Island Light.
{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1895 Houses completed in 1895 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Lighthouses in Mackinac County, Michigan Hiawatha National Forest National Register of Historic Places in Mackinac County, Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites in Mackinac County

History

Getting there

Light in popular culture

See also

References

Further reading

External links