National Register of Historic Places

Spectacle Reef Light Station

Benton Township, Cheboygan County, Michigan
Listed
July 26, 2005
Type
Structure
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
05000744

About this property

Spectacle Reef Light is a lighthouse 11 miles (18 km) east of the Straits of Mackinac and is located at the northern end of Lake Huron, Michigan. It was designed and built by Colonel Orlando Metcalfe Poe and Major Godfrey Weitzel, and was the most expensive lighthouse ever built on the Great Lakes. Because of the challenges of building on a shoal, including laying an underwater crib, it is said to be the "most spectacular engineering achievement" in lighthouse construction on Lake Huron. It took four years to build because weather limited work to mostly the summer season. Workers lived in a structure at the site; one of the limiting conditions. It ranks high as an engineering achievement among all the lighthouses built on the Great lakes. In 2020, The Spectacle Reef Preservation Society was formed and began to restore the lighthouse.

Location

Benton Township, Cheboygan County, Michigan
45.77334, -84.13669

Categories

MARITIME HISTORYTRANSPORTATIONARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

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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Native Heritage
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Settlement
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Nearby Historic Sites

Martin Reef Light Station
Industrial
9.7 mi
Poe Reef Light Station
Industrial
12.2 mi
Fourteen Foot Shoal Light Station
Industrial
15.8 mi
DeTour Reef Light Station
Industrial
16.5 mi
Cheboyan Bascule Bridge
Industrial
18.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Spectacle Reef Light Station listed on the National Register?

Spectacle Reef Light Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 26, 2005.

What type of historic resource is Spectacle Reef Light Station?

Spectacle Reef Light Station is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Spectacle Reef Light Station?

The period of significance for Spectacle Reef Light Station is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Spectacle Reef Light Station?

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