Michigan Lights - Mission Point

Mission Point Lighthouse, Old Mission
Peninsula, Michigan.  5/20/2018  dwm photo

The Mission Point lighthouse sits at the end of a long finger of land jutting into the West Grand Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan.

It is 18 miles north of Traverse City.  The finger is so skinny there isn't room for more than one road north and south.

The drive is beautiful as it winds between cherry orchards, small farms, and new home developments.

The fingertip is on the 45th parallel, half-way between the equator and the North Pole.  When we arrived, the third weekend of May we found Midges.

Midges is a name covering several different types of small flying insects.  Some can be nasty and spread disease.  Fortunately, the ones at Mission Point were just a nuisance.

Looking up the stairs
from the beach.
5/20/18  (dwm)

One got caught in my eyelashes.  They swarm in small clouds.  The best you hope for is a strong breeze.

The Mission Point lighthouse was approved in the 1860s after a large ship sank just off the craggy point.  The Civil War delayed construction and its opening until 1870.

This little home on the point kept the waters safe until 1933 when the light was moved offshore and automated; making the staffed lighthouse obsolete.

After getting placed on vacation, it sat empty until 1948 when locals raised enough money to purchase it.   It was a smart idea as the lighthouse was attracting tourists at the beginning of the 20th century.

Volunteer keepers and others restored the house and open it to visitors.  The small fee to climb the tower and any purchases made in the gift shop support its mission.

Looking our the tower at
Lake Michigan. 5/20/18 (dwm)

It is only a few bucks to climb up the three story tower and worth it, especially if it isn't crowded.  While there were a couple dozen visitors when we were there, I had no competition going up the ladder and had the top of the lantern room to myself.  The light itself was removed sometime after it was closed by the Coast Guard and never seen again.

A different 5th order Fresnel lens is on display in the museum; it's the same size as the one that warned sailors of danger as far out as 13 miles.

The short tower
rises over the beach.
5/20/18 (dwm)

This is a special lighthouse.  The location permits a view of another spit of land off to the west, but otherwise it is isolated.  The keepers' life was a solitary one, to be sure.

You can spend an hour or spend most of the day and include hikes along the beach or through the woods which surround the house.  The museum inside recreates how the widowed wife of a keeper lived while keeping the light.

By the way, a lot of women became light keepers when their husbands died.  They did all the work, but frequently had a tough time in that day finding respect and recognition they could do the job.  If you look up "women light-keepers," you will find stories of these hardy pioneers.

It's another way these lights are living pieces of history.