Peninsula Point Lighthouse

About this property

The Peninsula Point Light is a lighthouse located at the southern tip of the Stonington Peninsula in Bay de Noc township in Delta County, Michigan. United States Coast Guard historical documents have over the years listed the name of the site as both Peninsula Point and Point Peninsula. The Stonington Peninsula juts into Lake Michigan from the southern coast of Michigan's Upper Peninsula at a key point along the shipping lanes to and from the docks of Escanaba and Gladstone, as a hazardous shoal extends more than 2 miles (3.2 km) out into the lake, posing a hazard to shipping. Thus the light had two purposes: (1) it marked a turning point; and (2) it warned mariners away from the rocks and shallows. Danger was inherent in the confluence of reefs and the shipping channels, through which fish, iron ore, lumber, along with other products were transported. "The U.S. Government recognized the need for a lighthouse on the peninsula to aid navigation around these dangerous shoals and reefs separating Big Bay de Noc, Little Bay de Noc, and Green Bay of Lake Michigan." Although Congress voted funds to build the lighthouse founded in 1856, funds were again appropriated for the building of a lighthouse on the Stonington Peninsula on July 20, 1864. It was not built until 1865 following the United States Civil War. It maintained as an active aid to navigation until 1934. Point Peninsula Light's first keeper was Mr. Charles Beggs, who died there in 1887. The second keeper was Mr. Henry Corgan. Mr. Peter Knutsen was third. In 1889 Captain James D. Armstrong was appointed keeper and this was home to him and his family until 1922. In 1922, the United States Lighthouse Service installed an automatic acetylene light to replace the hand-operated oil lamp. Thus, it was no longer necessary to occupy the site since the light was automated. Captain Armstrong continued to be responsible for Peninsula Point until 1931. Thereafter, the fourth-order lens was removed from the lantern and replaced by a 12-inch (300 mm) lens equipped with a 300-candlepower acetylene flasher Dalén light and sun valve. Upon this installation, the light's characteristic was changed to repeated 1-second flash followed by a nine-second eclipse, exhibited initially on the evening of May 20, 1922. When the Minneapolis Shoal Light Station went into service. this light was decommissioned and abandoned in 1936. In 1937, the USDA-Forest Service was granted custodianship. The building was repaired and public picnic grounds were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The Stonington Grange took over maintenance of the structure and grounds. In 1949 the Grange won first prize in their State contest for their work at the lighthouse.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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