Saginaw River Rear Range Light
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The first Saginaw River lighthouse was constructed from 1839 to 1841, in a period when large quantities of lumber were being harvested and shipped from the heart of
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, ...
via river and the Great Lakes to the East Coast of the United States via the
Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...
and
Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
. This connection to major eastern markets was critical to the development of central Michigan. In 1867 the United States Corps of Engineers dredged the Saginaw River to enable passage by larger ships upriver. This change required replacing the first light, and in 1876 a pair of lighthouses were constructed in range light configuration to provide improved navigation. The front one was located on the west bank of the river and the rear range lighthouse was located south of the river mouth. It contained living quarters. In 1915, the two lighthouses were converted to electricity. Closed since the 1970s, the rear range lighthouse was listed in 1984 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 ...
.
Dow Chemical Company The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company was among the three largest chemical producers in the world in 2021. It is the operating subsidiary of Dow Inc., ...
, which owned the surrounding property, purchased the lighthouse and site in 1986 and boarded it up. Since the turn of the 21st century, the lighthouse and site are being renovated by the Saginaw River Marine Historical Society for heritage tourism.


History

European-American settlement along the
Saginaw River The Saginaw River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 7, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is formed by the confluence of the Tittabawassee River, ...
began in the 1830s, which was critical to development in the region, as it was navigable inland. Construction of the Saginaw Bay Lighthouse, to mark the entrance to the river, was begun in July 1839 by Captain Stephen Wolverton. The project was completed under the direction of Levi Johnson of
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
in the fall of 1841. In September 1841, the operations of the light were demonstrated. By this time, the lumber industry was growing rapidly, and much timber was shipped downriver and through 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 ...
and New York state's
Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...
to eastern markets. In 1867, the
United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...
dredged the
Saginaw River The Saginaw River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 7, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is formed by the confluence of the Tittabawassee River, ...
channel so that larger vessels could navigate the river. When they were finished, the light was no longer well-positioned to allow boats navigation of the entrance. Funding requests, negotiations for land, and contractual issues delayed work to replace the light until 1876. That year a pair of lighthouses were erected in a range light configuration. The "front" range light was constructed on a square timber crib beside the western river bank, and took the form of a tall painted-white pyramid framework of timber similar in design to that being used for pierhead beacons throughout the district at the time. With its upper half sheathed, a small enclosed room was created beneath the gallery for the storage of oil and supplies, and in which the keeper could seek shelter while tending the light during inclement weather conditions. The gallery was surrounded with an iron safety railing and capped with a prefabricated octagonal cast iron lantern. Seated atop a cast iron pedestal within the lantern, the light's sparkling new, fixed white sixth-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 ...
sat at a focal plane of , sending its light out into the bay.Terry Pepper, Saginaw River Rear Range Light.
/ref> The "rear" range light was constructed south of the mouth of the river. Eleventh district engineer
Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
Godfrey Weitzel's design for the combined rear range tower and dwelling was unique. A large elevated concrete base was to support a combined brick dwelling and tower. Because of swampy ground, timber piles had to be driven deep into the ground to provide a solid foundation on which timber forms for the concrete base could be erected and filled. Atop this concrete foundation, a square two-story
Cream City brick Cream City brick is a cream or light yellow-colored brick made from a clay constructed around Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the Menomonee River Valley and on the western banks of Lake Michigan. These bricks were one of the most common building mater ...
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 ...
's dwelling in plan was constructed. Integrated into the northwest corner of the dwelling, a tapered -tall square tower with double walls housed a set of prefabricated cast iron spiral stairs. Winding from the cellar to the lantern, these stairs also serve as the only means of access to the first and second floors by way of landings on each floor. Each was outfitted with tightly fitting arch-topped iron doors designed to stem the spread of fire between floors. A timber deck supported by timber columns encircled the dwelling at the first floor level, providing easy and dry access to all sides of the structure. The living quarters consisted of a kitchen, parlor and oil storage room on the first floor, and three bedrooms above. The tower was capped with a square iron gallery, supported by five cast iron
corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...
s on each of its four sides. An octagonal cast iron lantern was installed at its center, with a fixed white fourth-order Fresnel lens placed at a focal plane of 61 feet. The range lights were converted to electricity in 1915. The rear range light stayed active, and was used as the residence for men assigned to the associated US Coast Guard facility until the 1970s. At that time, the Coast Guard Station was moved across the river in order to have more space. The lighthouse remained empty until 1986.
Dow Chemical Company The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company was among the three largest chemical producers in the world in 2021. It is the operating subsidiary of Dow Inc., ...
, which owned the surrounding land, purchased the facility and boarded it up. In 1999, the Saginaw River Marine Historical Society (SRMHS) approached Dow to collaborate to restore the lighthouse and open it to tourists. Renovation is being done by the SRMHS, with Lighthouse Friends helping raise funding. In 2002, the Saginaw River Marine Historical Society "acquired a historic locomotive-style range lens of the type used in the lighthouse between 1930 and 1960." It is generally believed (but not well documented) that the Saginaw River lighthouse was the first place where range lights were installed. More details are available in the Wikipedia article on
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 ...
s. According to Saginaw Future, the river still carries nearly 5 million tons of commerce in the 21st century. This lighthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.Reference #84001373, Name of Listing: SAGINAW RIVER LIGHT STATION (U.S. COAST GUARD/GREAT LAKES TR)
Maritime History Project, Inventory of Lights, National Park Service
According to US Government publication, "The American Practical Navigator", Chapter 5: ''Range lights are light pairs that indicate a specific line of position when they are in line. The higher rear light is placed behind the front light. When the mariner sees the lights vertically in line, he is on the range line. If the front light appears left of the rear light, the observer is to the right of the range line; if the front appears to the right of the rear, the observer is left of the range line.


References


External links

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A comprehensive (and interactive with geographic locations) listing of Michigan lighthouses and museums, complete with pictures and descriptions

Huelse, Klaus -- Meine Leuchtturm-Seite: Leuchttürme USA auf historischen Postkarten -- Historic postcard images of U.S. lighthouses, Historic Post Card View of "Bay City Lighthouse" which is the Saginaw River Rear Range Light.

Map of Michigan Lighthouse
in PDF Format.
Saginaw River Marine Historical Society.

Satellite view of Saginaw River Rear Range Light at
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 ...
. *
Wobser, David, Boatnerd.com Saginaw River Rear Range Lighthouse.
{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1841 Lighthouses completed in 1876 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites Buildings and structures in Bay County, Michigan Saginaw River National Register of Historic Places in Bay County, Michigan