Michigan Lights - Presque Isle Harbor Range Lights

Original Front Range
Light. 9/16/19 (dwm)

Range lights continue to guide boats into the harbor at the south end of Presque Isle using the same method as when they were built in 1870.

The original range lights had a front (photo left) and rear light (photo below right) which doubled as keeper's home.  Today it is privately owned - you can see it from the park, but it is not open.

Rear Presque Isle Range Light is now a private home.
9/16/2019 dwm photo

If the boat lined up so the two lights were aligned, the captain knew he was safely in the channel.

The original lights worked until 1967 when they were replaced by new, taller range lights.

Those lights, front (below left) and rear (below left) worked in tandem to show boats the way.

During the day, boats couldn't see a light signal.  Instead they line up the orange and white stripes on the two towers.

New Front Range
Light. 9/16/19 (dwm)

The new range lights are on the same path, which I walked from the old keeper's house to the edge of Lake Huron.

New Rear Range Light
9/16/19 (dwm)

The old lights were first operated by the Tom Garrity, Jr. son of the man who closed the Old Presque Isle lighthouse and opened the new house in 1870.

His daughter, Anna, followed him in 1903 and served as a light keeper 23 years.

Some times lighthouses feel antique or dated.  The Presque Isle Harbor Range Lights are just as important today - guiding boats safely through dangerous rocks.

You can see more Great Lakes lighthouses by clicking this link.