Michigan Lights - Fort Gratiot

The Fort Gratiot light towers above the south end of
Lake Huron.  9/25/2019  dwm photo

It is the oldest lighthouse in Michigan - named for the man who engineered the fort which protected the connection of Lake Huron and St. Clair River during the War of 1812, Charles Gratiot.

The Fort name still applies, for the city and the piece of land that is still an active Coast Guard station including the venerable light.

This light is second on the scene.  It was built in 1825, but not well.  It wasn't positioned well either, as ships on Lake Huron couldn't see it clearly.  The light collapsed in a 1828 storm.

Fort Gratiot Light and Coast Guard
station.  9/25/2019 (dwm)

The 1828 tower was made 17 feet taller in 1862.  In 2011, a major restoration effort replaced 35,000 exterior bricks.

The light hasn't changed much and neither has the waterway - as freighters carry raw materials and finished goods both down and upstream through Lake Huron and the St. Clair River.

There were several years, 1875 - 1882, that the Lighthouse board urged the light be replaced.  I suspect the leaks that drew complaints were easier and cheaper to fix than spend $25,000 on a new light.

Canada is on the opposite shore from the second oldest
light house on the Great Lakes. 9/25/2019 (dwm)

While the tower is open during the summer and weekends into early winter, it was closed the day we came to town.

I was thankful to get as close as I did.  The white-washed exterior stands out against a background of buildings for south-bound ships.  A large bridge linking Michigan with the Province of Ontario is less than a quarter-mile south.

The next light isn't part of a house or even near one - see it next week.  To catch up on lights you may have missed, click this link.