Fort Gratiot Lighthouse
Port Huron, Michigan
Established: (1825) and 1829
Status: Active
Location: Lake Huron/St. Clair River
Type: Conical, brick
Access: foot
Established in 1825, the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse is Michigan's oldest light, older than the state itself, which was admitted to the Union in 1837. Today, the station still keeps watch over the Lake Huron entrance to the St. Clair River.
The Fort Gratiot Light is near the Blue Water bridge which links Michigan to Sarnia, Ontario Canada. A short distance upstream is the lightship Huron, in the city of Port Huron's Pine Grove Park. The last U.S. lightship to serve on the Great Lakes, it is a National Historic Landmark.
The first keeper of the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse was George McDougal, a Detroit lawyer. It was not a wonderful job for him, as it depleted his personal savings keeping the station habitable. The tower was not built to goverment specifications, the materials used were shoddy, and McDougal discovered it unsafe. He was correct. The tower fell down, and a more robust structure replaced it in 1829.
Today, the tower stands more than eighty feet tall. Automated in 1933, it's light has a focal plane eighty-six feet above lake level. The conical stone tower, overlaid with red brick, has been painted white. The keeper's cottage and fog whistle house are red. Above the tower, a red dome covers the lantern room.
The lighthouse was not open the day I took this photograph, but I was able to get a snapshot from the park grounds adjacent to it.
DIRECTIONS:
From I-94 take Pine Grove Street (M-25) north, then turn right onto Garfield Street and follow Gratiot Avenue. The lighthouse is only open a few times a year, and is located on a Coast Guard facility. Parking is available in the area. For information on tours call (313) 982-0891 or ask at the nearby Huron Lightship Museum.
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