Seul Choix Light
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The Seul Choix 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 in the northwest corner of
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 ...
in
Schoolcraft County, Michigan Schoolcraft County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 8,047, making it Michiga ...
. The station was established in 1892 with a temporary light, and this light started service in 1895, and was fully automated in 1972. It 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 ...
. There is now a museum at the light and both the building and the grounds are open fo
visitors
from Memorial Day until the middle of October.
/ref>


History

This location is the only harbor of refuge along a treacherous stretch of coast. Its
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
name is "only choice", suggesting that it was used as a refuge by the early French traders in this area. Local references state that the correct pronunciation is "Sis-shwa", assumed to be the common name used by both the French
Voyageurs Voyageurs (; ) were 18th- and 19th-century French and later French Canadians and others who transported furs by canoe at the peak of the North American fur trade. The emblematic meaning of the term applies to places (New France, including the ...
and the Native Americans with whom they traded. In the 1880s, there was increased maritime traffic between the harbors on Lake Michigan's western shore and Green Bay on the one hand, and 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 ...
on the other. Although the
St. Helena Island Light The buildings of the St Helena Light complex are the sole surviving structures on St. Helena Island, in Mackinac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The lighthouse on the St. Helena Island's southeastern point was built in 1872-1873 and we ...
marked the western entry into the Straits, and
Poverty Island Light The Poverty Island Light is a light house located on Poverty Island in northwestern Lake Michigan, south of Garden Peninsula. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 as the Poverty Island Light Station. History In 18 ...
lighted the entrance to the Bays de Noc, there were no lighthouses to aid mariners navigating a dark stretch of coastline on the southern shore 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 ...
. The navigation season along this shoreline often began and ended with treacherous storms. Waves would build as they traversed the lake, making the shelter a matter of life and death. Thus, mariners would seek shelter on the
leeward In geography and seamanship, windward () and leeward () are directions relative to the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e., towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point o ...
side of points protruding into the lake along this stretch of unlighted shore. The
United States Lighthouse Board The United States Lighthouse Board was the second agency of the U.S. federal government, under the Department of Treasury, responsible for the construction and maintenance of all lighthouses and navigation aids in the United States, between 18 ...
sought to mark the sheltering harbor, and provide a visual
waypoint A waypoint is a point or place on a route or line of travel, a stopping point, an intermediate point, or point at which course is changed, the first use of the term tracing to 1880. In modern terms, it most often refers to coordinates which spe ...
between the two existing lights. After considerable investigation and delay, the result was the building of this lighthouse. It also included a separate
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. ...
building, and a life-saving station. Although it was built two decades later, the design of this light is similar to the Au Sable Light which was designed by
Orlando M. Poe Orlando Metcalfe Poe (March 7, 1832 – October 2, 1895) was a United States Army officer and engineer in the American Civil War. After helping General William Tecumseh Sherman's Sherman's March to the Sea, March to the Sea, he was responsibl ...
, which also resembles the Grosse Point Light The building is designed in
Italianate architecture The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century ...
. The original optic was a fixed third-order Henry-LePaute
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 ...
. After its removal in 1973, it was housed in the Steamship Valley Camp Museum in
Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie may refer to: People * Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a Native American tribe in Michigan Places * Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada ** Sault Ste. Marie (federal electoral district), a Canadian federal electora ...
, but is now in a private collection according to a sign in the keeper's dwelling.Anderson, Kraig, Lighthouse Friends, Seul Choix Light.
/ref> When the light was automated, the original lens was removed and an aerobeacon was emplaced The light was replaced with a
DCB-224 An aerobeacon is a light assembly used to create a fixed or flashing signal visible over long distances. It consists of a high intensity electric lamp mounted with a focusing device in a cylindrical housing, which usually is rotated on a vertical ...
aero beacon manufactured by the Carlisle & Finch Company. In this configuration, its characteristic is a white flash every six seconds, which is visible for a distance of in clear weather conditions, like the original lens. In 1973, the Coast Guard closed the station, and left the automated light unmanned. Putting aside questions of nostalgia, aesthetics, or appreciation for the engineering of a bygone era (as exemplified by the Fresnel lens), this iteration of lighthouse illumination is itself incredibly effective, and an endangered remnant of another bygone era. The site includes two brick oil houses, a workshop,
barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G ...
,
cistern A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster. Cisterns are disti ...
in
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 house, converted
boathouse A boathouse (or a boat house) is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. describing the facilities These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats ...
(now a garage), a second keepers house, two
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 ...
s, and a dock. On July 19, 1984, the site was listed in 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 ...
, Reference #84001846 as Seul Choix Pointe Light Station (U.S. Coast Guard/Great Lakes TR). In 1987 it was also listed on the state registry.


Current status

The lighthouse is operated by the Gulliver Historical Society, in cooperation with the
Michigan Department of Natural Resources The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan founded in 1921, charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appoint ...
. It is open to the public and tours are available (including climbing the tower), which is "relatively rare for an active aid to navigation." On display are the
fog signal 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 very old
dugout canoe A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed-out tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' (tr ...
which was found on site. There are also "unique copper moldings around some of the interior door frames... a aredecorative touch... in lighthouse dwellings."Wobser, David; Woodward, James; and Shook, Jeff, ''Seul Choix Light''
,
Boatnerd 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 intere ...
.
The lighthouse is in the end stage its historical restoration, being performed by National Restoration, Inc. Grounds are open year-round, and the light and museum is open from
Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...
until October 15. It is also said to be haunted by the old lightkeeper, Joeseph William Townshed.


Location

The light is located at the tip of Seul Choix Pointe on the shore of
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 ...
in southern Mueller Township, at the end of Co. Rd. 431/John Goudreau Road southeast of Gulliver, Michigan near Port Inland, about east of Manistique.


Popular culture

The light has been the subject of drawings and
needlepoint Needlepoint is a type of canvas work, a form of embroidery in which yarn is stitched through a stiff open weave canvas. Traditionally needlepoint designs completely cover the canvas. Although needlepoint may be worked in a variety of stitches, ...
illustrations.
Folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
Carl Behrend recorded an album entitled ''The Ballad of Seul Choix Lighthouse''.


References


Further reading


Fischer, Jenifer. "Seul Choix Pointe Light Station." The Keeper's Log (United States Lighthouse Society, Spring 2004), pp. 2–7
* Hermanson, Don, ''True Lighthouse Hauntings, Revisited'' including Seul Choix Light (cover art)

* Taylor, Paul (October 2009) ''Orlando M. Poe: Civil War General and Great Lakes Engineer'' (
Kent State University Press Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Ashtabula, Burton, East Liverpool, Jackson Township, New Philadelphia ...
) ;
Wobser, David; Woodward, James; and Shook, Jeff, ''Seul Choix Light''
,
Boatnerd 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 intere ...


External links

* *
Seul Choix Point Light and Museum

Aerial photos, Seul Choix Light, marinas.com.


* ttp://www.lighthousefriends.com/macstraits.html Lighthouses in the Mackinac Straits, Lighthouse Friends. {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1895 Houses completed in 1895 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Museums in Schoolcraft County, Michigan Lighthouse museums in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Schoolcraft County, Michigan