Sand Hills Light
Encyclopedia
Sand Hills is a formerly active lighthouse on the shore of Lake Superior
converted into a bed and breakfast
. It is located in Ahmeek
in Keweenaw County
Michigan
in the Keweenaw Peninsula
, which is the northern part of the Upper Peninsula.
It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
in 1994.
and Eagle Harbor Light. With the end of the copper boom in the 1870s the Eagle River, Michigan
harbor started to decay. "By the 1890’s, it seemed the only ship coming into the harbor was the lighthouse service tender." It was recommended to build a new lighthouse at Sand Hills where most of the lake traffic was traveling and to decommission Eagle River.
Many years after the decommissioning of the Eagle River Light, Sand Hills Lighthouse was commissioned in 1917, as a response to a number of instances of ships that had run aground on the nearby "Sawtooth" reef
-- which lies just below the surface—in the previous few years. It is about halfway between Eagle Harbor Light and Ontonagon, Michigan
.
The Lighthouse was completed in May 1919 and was in service for 20 years as a manned aid to navigation.
complete with 3 keepers.
It is "the twin" of the ill-fated 1940 Scotch Cap Light
on Alaska's Unimak Island
. In 1945, Anthony Petit
was assigned the lighthouse keeper
to the Scotch Cap Light heading up a five-man crew. All were killed on April 1, 1946 when a massive tsunami
struck the station, destroying it. This was the worst disaster to ever befall a land-based Coast Guard light station. The United States Coast Guard
has named a buoy tender
USCGC Anthony Petit based in Ketchikan, Alaska
in his honor.
The site includes an oil house, garage, barracks
building (1916, and used in World War II
, and a concrete
breakwater
(1917).
The station originally had a Fourth Order bullseye lens lighted by an oil vapor lamp, which was visible for eleven miles.
In 1939, the Coast Guard assumed responsibility for the Lighthouse and automated
its use, eliminating the need for keepers.
In 1942, it was converted to a wartime Coast Guard training facility, housing and
schooling roughly 200 trainees at a time. In 1943 it was closed as a training location
and reverted to being simply a lighthouse.
It continued as an active lighthouse until 1954, when it was decommissioned, in part due to improvements in weather forecasting and the adoption of radar.
It stayed empty and idle through the next few years, finally being liquidated and sold at
public auction in 1958 for $26,000 to H. Donald Bliss, an insurance agent from the Detroit area.
In 1961, it was sold again to Bill Frabotta, a Detroit photographer and artist who used the
fog station as a summer cottage. In 1992, Mr. Frabotta began a comprehensive 3 year rebuilding project, and along with his wife, Mary, converted the entire facility into a premier Bed and Breakfast Inn. Mary Frabotta plays the 106 year old parlor grand piano each evening for guests. It was selected by American Historic Inns
as one of the ten most romantic inns in America" and rated in the top 15 Bed and Breakfasts with the Best Gourmet Breakfast by The Bed and Breakfast Journal.
In 2001 the fog signal building was restored.
The original fourth order Fresnel lens
is on display at Dossin Great Lakes Museum
in Detroit. However a similar lens is on display in the lighthouse. The original stucco
fog signal building was restored in 2001.
. Turn left at the first street and follow the signs to Five Mile Point Road. 7.5 miles up Five Mile Point Road is the Sand Hills Lighthouse is located 7.5 miles up Five Mile Point Road. On the left there is "a nice sign at the entrance".
The lighthouse operates as the Sand Hills Lighthouse Inn. The Inn is a totally "smoke free," adult environment with no pets and 3000 ft of private Lake Superior shoreline.
The tower's original fourth-order Fresnel lens is on display at the Great Lakes Maritime Institute in Detroit. The lighthouse does have a similar lens on display.
The lighthouse is privately owned. Grounds open, dwelling/tower open for overnight guests.
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
converted into a bed and breakfast
Bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...
. It is located in Ahmeek
Ahmeek, Michigan
Ahmeek is a village in Keweenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 157. The village is in Allouez Township. The name Ahmeek is derived from the Ojibwa language. In Ojibway, amik means beaver....
in Keweenaw County
Keweenaw County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 2,301 people, 998 households, and 604 families residing in the county. The population density was 4 people per square mile . There were 2,327 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile...
Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
in the Keweenaw Peninsula
Keweenaw Peninsula
The Keweenaw Peninsula is the northern-most part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States. As of the 2000 census, its population was roughly 43,200...
, which is the northern part of the Upper Peninsula.
It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1994.
History
Eagle River Light was the only lighthouse between the Keweenaw WaterwayKeweenaw Waterway
The Keweenaw Waterway is a partly natural, partly artificial waterway which cuts across the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan; it separates Copper Island from the mainland. Parts of the waterway are variously known as the Keweenaw Waterway, Portage Canal, Portage Lake Canal, Portage River, Lily Pond,...
and Eagle Harbor Light. With the end of the copper boom in the 1870s the Eagle River, Michigan
Eagle River, Michigan
Eagle River is an unincorporated community in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Keweenaw County.The community is on M-26 on the north side of the Keweenaw Peninsula, which projects into Lake Superior. It is about 27 miles northeast of Houghton and is situated in the northwest...
harbor started to decay. "By the 1890’s, it seemed the only ship coming into the harbor was the lighthouse service tender." It was recommended to build a new lighthouse at Sand Hills where most of the lake traffic was traveling and to decommission Eagle River.
Many years after the decommissioning of the Eagle River Light, Sand Hills Lighthouse was commissioned in 1917, as a response to a number of instances of ships that had run aground on the nearby "Sawtooth" reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
-- which lies just below the surface—in the previous few years. It is about halfway between Eagle Harbor Light and Ontonagon, Michigan
Ontonagon, Michigan
Ontonagon is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 1,769. It is the county seat of Ontonagon County....
.
The Lighthouse was completed in May 1919 and was in service for 20 years as a manned aid to navigation.
complete with 3 keepers.
It is "the twin" of the ill-fated 1940 Scotch Cap Light
Scotch Cap Light
The Scotch Cap Light is a lighthouse located on the southwest corner of Unimak Island in Alaska. It was the first station established on the outside coast of Alaska.-History:...
on Alaska's Unimak Island
Unimak Island
Unimak Island is the largest island in the Aleutian Islands chain of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the easternmost island in the Aleutians and, with an area of 1,571.41 mi² , the ninth largest island in the United States and the 134th largest island in the world. It is home to Mount...
. In 1945, Anthony Petit
Anthony Petit
Anthony Petit was an American lighthouse keeper. In 1945 he was assigned to the Scotch Cap Light in Alaska as the head of a five-man crew...
was assigned the lighthouse keeper
Lighthouse keeper
A lighthouse keeper is the 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. Keepers were needed to trim the wicks, replenish fuel, wind clockworks and perform maintenance tasks such as cleaning...
to the Scotch Cap Light heading up a five-man crew. All were killed on April 1, 1946 when a massive tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
struck the station, destroying it. This was the worst disaster to ever befall a land-based Coast Guard light station. The United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
has named a buoy tender
USCG Coastal Buoy Tender
The United States Coast Guard commissioned a new Keeper-class of coastal buoy tenders in the 1990s that are 175 feet in length and named after Lighthouse keepers.Keeper Class cutters serve the Coast Guard in a variety of missions...
USCGC Anthony Petit based in Ketchikan, Alaska
Ketchikan, Alaska
Ketchikan is a city in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska, United States, the southeasternmost sizable city in that state. With an estimated population of 7,368 in 2010 within the city limits, it is the fifth most populous city in the state....
in his honor.
The site includes an oil house, garage, barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
building (1916, and used in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and a concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
breakwater
Breakwater (structure)
Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...
(1917).
The station originally had a Fourth Order bullseye lens lighted by an oil vapor lamp, which was visible for eleven miles.
In 1939, the Coast Guard assumed responsibility for the Lighthouse and automated
its use, eliminating the need for keepers.
In 1942, it was converted to a wartime Coast Guard training facility, housing and
schooling roughly 200 trainees at a time. In 1943 it was closed as a training location
and reverted to being simply a lighthouse.
It continued as an active lighthouse until 1954, when it was decommissioned, in part due to improvements in weather forecasting and the adoption of radar.
It stayed empty and idle through the next few years, finally being liquidated and sold at
public auction in 1958 for $26,000 to H. Donald Bliss, an insurance agent from the Detroit area.
In 1961, it was sold again to Bill Frabotta, a Detroit photographer and artist who used the
fog station as a summer cottage. In 1992, Mr. Frabotta began a comprehensive 3 year rebuilding project, and along with his wife, Mary, converted the entire facility into a premier Bed and Breakfast Inn. Mary Frabotta plays the 106 year old parlor grand piano each evening for guests. It was selected by American Historic Inns
as one of the ten most romantic inns in America" and rated in the top 15 Bed and Breakfasts with the Best Gourmet Breakfast by The Bed and Breakfast Journal.
In 2001 the fog signal building was restored.
The original fourth order Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
is on display at Dossin Great Lakes Museum
Dossin Great Lakes Museum
The Dossin Great Lakes Museum is an historical maritime museum in Detroit, Michigan. Located on The Strand on Belle Isle Park along the Detroit River, this museum places special interest on Detroit's role on national and regional maritime history...
in Detroit. However a similar lens is on display in the lighthouse. The original stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
fog signal building was restored in 2001.
Getting there
Take Highway 41 to Ahmeek, MichiganAhmeek, Michigan
Ahmeek is a village in Keweenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 157. The village is in Allouez Township. The name Ahmeek is derived from the Ojibwa language. In Ojibway, amik means beaver....
. Turn left at the first street and follow the signs to Five Mile Point Road. 7.5 miles up Five Mile Point Road is the Sand Hills Lighthouse is located 7.5 miles up Five Mile Point Road. On the left there is "a nice sign at the entrance".
The lighthouse operates as the Sand Hills Lighthouse Inn. The Inn is a totally "smoke free," adult environment with no pets and 3000 ft of private Lake Superior shoreline.
The tower's original fourth-order Fresnel lens is on display at the Great Lakes Maritime Institute in Detroit. The lighthouse does have a similar lens on display.
The lighthouse is privately owned. Grounds open, dwelling/tower open for overnight guests.