Michigan Lights - Old Presque Isle

A Fourth Order Fresnel Lens light
eyeing Lake Huron. 9/16/19 (dwm)

You know something is old when its history references the War of 1812... that's the time ship traffic on the St. Lawrence Seaway and through Lakes Ontario and Huron was increasing rapidly.

Congress approved construction in 1838 and it was on duty two years later.  The tower is 30 feet high with a cone fashioned out of stone and a round section of brick.  It is lost in the light's history whether the original lantern was dismantled or destroyed.

A private owner bought a surplus Fresnel Lens in 1961 and commissioned a local to build a new lantern.  I'm glad.  It is more photogenic with a cap.

The tower is the only original piece of the Old Light, but the authentic looking keeper's house was built on the foundation of the original in the 1930s.

Old Presque Isle light and house.
9/16/2019 dwm photo

The old light worked fine, but the original detached house was falling apart by 1868.  A proposal to build a new house attached to the light was considered, but instead plans for a new, taller light a mile north was approved.

Keeper Patrick Garrity and his wife, Mary moved to their new home in 1871, abandoning the original.

It was privately owned from 1897 until purchased by the Presque Isle Township in 1995.

Early morning fog shrouds the Old Presque Isle Light.
9/16/2019 dwm photo

My first photo of the light was from a distance while taking pictures of the Presque Isle Range Lights (you'll see them next Sunday).

The fog was lifting, creating a veil around the light on its south-facing point on Presque Isle (which means almost an island).

The grounds opened minutes later, allowing me to climb the tower's stone steps.  Then it was time to explore the keeper's house which looks authentic with a large fireplace and loft.

A statue of long-time
keeper Patrick Garrity.
9/16/19 (dwm)

The Presque Isle Township deserves credit for developing the Old and New Presque Isle Lights into a wonderful stops for light house lovers.  If you count the island's range lights you have four lights within a mile of each other.

The New Light (coming in two weeks) was the second home for the Garrity family.  Patrick, his wife, and four of their children all served as light keepers.  Garrity Sr. was the fourth and final keeper for the old light (1861 - 1870), when he moved his family a mile up the road to the new one.

You can see more lighthouses by following this link.