Michigan Lights - Au Sable Pierhead

The 1912 Au Sable Pierhead light. 9/16/2019 dwm photo

You can see in the photo (right) that it isn't in its natural habitat.

As obvious at it appears standing along the main drag in Oscoda, Michigan - we couldn't find it at first.

The photo in Lighthouse Friends showed a white metal structure in the corner of a parking lot.

Finally, I walked into the Town Hall for directions.  It turned out it was across the street and had been painted red.

The Au Sable Pierhead
was cleaned and painted
in 2017. 9/16/19 (dwm)

We pulled in the lot.  My wife walked to the Dairy Queen on the corner while I took my pictures before buying a cone.

This light is the third to guide boats into the Au Sable harbor.  It replaced a decaying wood tower.

This light was replaced in 1957, but purchased by a local businessman before eventually landing in town after the Oscoda Downtown Development Authority bought it.

The light is next to MI
Hwy 23 in front of the
Huron Shores Artisan
Hall. 9/16/19 (dwm)

This was our last light I wanted to "collect" before driving west across the state to Traverse City for our week as keepers at the Mission Point Lighthouse.

It isn't much of a light in the classical sense of lighthouses, but it is an early example of what eventually put the full-time keepers and the houses where they lived and worked in out of business.

Ultimately, the lights are about boat safety.  The metal skeleton doesn't compare to a conical tower in beauty, but if it gets the captain and their ship into port, it is all that matters.

Next Sunday, the lighthouse series continues down the east side of Michigan.  You can see more lights by following this link.