South Haven Lighthouse
Encyclopedia
The South Haven South Pierhead Light is a lighthouse
in Michigan
, at the entrance to the Black River
on Lake Michigan
. The station was established in 1872, and is still operational. The tower is a shortened version of the Muskegon South Pierhead Light
, and replaced an 1872 wooden tower. The catwalk is original and still links the tower to shore: it is one of only four that survive in the State of Michigan.
house is on shore, 2-1/2 stories stall, wood with a hipped-roof. It was also built in 1872, and is located at 91 Michigan Avenue onshore, was transferred to the city for preservation in 2000. The Michigan Maritime Museum has renovated the keeper's house as the Marialyce Canonie Great Lakes Research Library.
A Fifth order Fresnel lens
manufactured by Parisian glass makers Barbier and Fenestre was installed in the lantern.
The current tower was designed by Eleventh District engineer James G. Warren.
The U.S. Lighthouse Service elected to tear down the wooden lighthouse and replace it. On October 6, 1903 ten workers arrived on the USLHS tender Hyacinth and began the project. It took a little more than a month to complete the project. According to The Daily Tribune (October 14, 1903) the lantern room was brought from Muskegon, Michigan where it had spent forty years on duty.
In 1913, the location was deemed unsatisfactory, and the cast iron
lighthouse was moved 425 feet (129.5 m) to the end of the pier.
In 1999, Lighthouse Digest published an extensive article on the light, filled with interesting anecdotes and ephemera.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
in 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"....
, at the entrance to the Black River
Black River (Southwest Michigan)
Black River is a river in the southwest part of the U.S. state of Michigan that empties into Lake Michigan in South Haven at , where it discharges past the South Pier Lighthouse. The river takes its name from the dark brown color of its water, which is caused by suspended sediments and organic...
on Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
. The station was established in 1872, and is still operational. The tower is a shortened version of the Muskegon South Pierhead Light
Muskegon Pier Light
The Muskegon Pier Light is a lighthouse located in the harbor of Muskegon, Michigan.The site is accessible but the lighthouse is close to the public.-History:...
, and replaced an 1872 wooden tower. The catwalk is original and still links the tower to shore: it is one of only four that survive in the State of Michigan.
History
The keeper'sLighthouse 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...
house is on shore, 2-1/2 stories stall, wood with a hipped-roof. It was also built in 1872, and is located at 91 Michigan Avenue onshore, was transferred to the city for preservation in 2000. The Michigan Maritime Museum has renovated the keeper's house as the Marialyce Canonie Great Lakes Research Library.
A Fifth 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...
manufactured by Parisian glass makers Barbier and Fenestre was installed in the lantern.
The current tower was designed by Eleventh District engineer James G. Warren.
The U.S. Lighthouse Service elected to tear down the wooden lighthouse and replace it. On October 6, 1903 ten workers arrived on the USLHS tender Hyacinth and began the project. It took a little more than a month to complete the project. According to The Daily Tribune (October 14, 1903) the lantern room was brought from Muskegon, Michigan where it had spent forty years on duty.
In 1913, the location was deemed unsatisfactory, and the cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
lighthouse was moved 425 feet (129.5 m) to the end of the pier.
In 1999, Lighthouse Digest published an extensive article on the light, filled with interesting anecdotes and ephemera.
Directions
In 2005 this museum reported it was "in the process" of acquiring the lighthouse. It is accessible to the public, and located on the south pier at the mouth of the Black River, at the end of Water Street. Located at the end of the pier at the foot of Water Street in South Haven. One can get there by walking the pier after parking in the nearby city park. The site is open, but the tower is closed (except for open house during the city's mid-June Harborfest).Further reading
- Bibliography on Michigan lighthouses.
- Crompton, Samuel Willard & Michael J. Rhein, The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses (2002) ISBN 1592231020; ISBN 978-1592231027.
- Hyde, Charles K., and Ann and John Mahan. The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995. ISBN 0814325548 ISBN 9780814325544.
- Jones, Ray & Bruce Roberts, American Lighthouses (Globe Pequot, September 1, 1998, 1st Ed.) ISBN 0762703245; ISBN 978-0762703241.
- Jones, Ray,The Lighthouse Encyclopedia, The Definitive Reference (Globe Pequot, January 1, 2004, 1st ed.) ISBN 0762727357; ISBN 978-0762727353.
- Noble, Dennis, Lighthouses & Keepers: U. S. Lighthouse Service and Its Legacy (Annapolis: U. S. Naval Institute Press, 1997). ISBN 1557506388; ISBN 9781557506382.
- Oleszewski, Wes, Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
- Penrod, John, Lighthouses of Michigan, (Berrien Center, Michigan: Penrod/Hiawatha, 1998) ISBN 9780942618785 ISBN 9781893624238.
- Putnam, George R., Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1933).
- United States Coast Guard, Aids to Navigation, (Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1945).
- Wagner, John L., Michigan Lighthouses: An Aerial Photographic Perspective, (East Lansing, Michigan: John L. Wagner, 1998) ISBN 1880311011 ISBN 9781880311011.
- Wargin, Ed, Legends of Light: A Michigan Lighthouse Portfolio (Ann Arbor Media Group, 2006). ISBN 9781587262517.
- Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1550463993
External links
- Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses.
- Harrison, Timothy, South Haven Lights...Pages From Their Past, Lighthouse Digest, October, 1999.
- Interactive map of lighthouses in southern Lake Michigan.
- Lighthouse Central, Photographs, History, Directions and Way points for Southhaven South Pier Light, The Ultimate Guide to West Michigan Lighthouses by Jerry Roach (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - 2005). ISBN 0-9747977-0-7.
- Lighthouse Friends (South Haven South Pier Light).
- Map of Michigan Lighthouse in PDF Format.
- Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, South Haven Light.
- National Park ServiceNational Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
South Haven South Pierhead Light, Maritime Heritage Project, Inventory of Historic Light Stations: Michigan Lighthouses, South Haven Light. - Tag, Phyllis L., Great Lakes Lighthouse Research, Keepers of the South Haven Light.
- Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, South Haven Pier Light.
- Wobser, David and Petill, Jerry, South Haven Light, boatnerd.com.