Presque Isle lighthouse
Presque Isle lighthouse in the summer time
Located on the eastern shoreline of Lake Huron in northern Michigan you will find the Presque Isle lighthouse. The French term Presque Isle means almost an island. In the year 1838 Congress appropriated $7000 for the construction of the Presque Isle lighthouse. The lighthouse construction started shortly thereafter and completed in 1840.
The first of two Presque Isle White houses to be built to 30 foot tall and had walls 4 feet thick at the base. Inside the lighthouse was a spiraling staircase that was made of hand cut stone. A short distance from the lighthouse tower was a small single story dwelling for the lightkeepers residence. September 1840 when the lightkeeper first moved in the lighthouse lantern was lit.
By 1866 light keepers residence was in such disrepair that nothing short of a complete tear down and rebuild would make the residents liveable again. The owner went to Congress and ask funds be made available to rebuild the Presque Isle lighthouse keepers residence and in March 1867the funds were approved.
Just as the new construction on the residents was about to begin a lighthouse committee changed direction. The lighthouse committee decided that because the light tower was only 30 feet tall and only lit the harbor at a new lighthouse should be constructed at a new site about a mile away at the tip of the peninsula. This new lighthouse would soon render the original lighthouse obsolete and therefore the construction for the new residence was canceled.
The new light house on Presque Isle point was finished in 1871. When the light keeper and his family moved into the new location the lantern was lit still stands today. When the lantern was removed it was packaged and sent to a new location to be used. The old tower was left uncapped after the removal of the lantern in the windows and doors are boarded up.
For 26 years the old lighthouse stood in despair until 1897 when the property was sold at a public auction. Four years after the property remain a popular picnic area for guests at a nearby hotel.
Sometime in the 1930s the lighthouse purchased again in the new owners rebuilt the light keepers residence and made it into an old-style English cottage which was used as a summer home. Then in the 1940s tourist and vacationers began asking for tours of the old lighthouse and the owner realized that by converting the property into a museum he could possibly make some money. So the tower was refurbished by replacing the old washed out cement between the stones and giving the tower a fresh coat of paint.
The old cottage was furnished with maritime artifacts and mid-19th century items. These items and artifacts were displayed on the grounds as well as in the cottage. In 1965 the old lighthouse finally got electricity in the lighthouse light was re-activated. Because the old lighthouse light could be confused with the lighthouse light on the tip of Presque Isle the Coast Guard would not recognize it as an official lighthouse like and therefore the old light was deactivated.
In the year of 1977 a retired couple Mr. and Mrs. George Parris became live in tour guides and custodians. George being a personable man enjoying his job at the lighthouse in love reading the many visitors. He especially enjoyed watching the children as he told the many stories of the lives of the various lighthouse keepers. He would also play a harmless prank of blowing the fog horn
just to make sure everyone was paying attention. In January 1992 George sadly passed on.
George's wife Lorraine stayed on and continued to work at the lighthouse. One night on her way back to her residence she saw a light shining in the old lighthouse tower. Knowing that George had disconnected the electricity to the old tower years ago that the light she was seeing could not be a tower lite, she was a bit frazzled to say the least.
When the Coast Guard had said it was illegal to display the light in the old tower for fear of Mariners would confuse the new lighthouse with the old lighthouse they removed it appears that turned the light to ensure that a accidental lighting would not occur. It was impossible to find a reasonable explanation as to why the light was there.
Soon other reports of the light being seen in the old tower began happening. Even National Guard pilots reported seeing the light in the old lighthouse tower while flying over the peninsula. There is even mysterious stories of Georgia's Lake guiding wayward or lost Mariners through the night on the dark foggy and stormy nights. To this day the light seems to come on at dusk and off at daylight. This is then classified as a unidentified light by the coast guard.
In the summer of 1992 reported seeing a white hair tall man standing on the steps leading to the lantern room of the old lighthouse. When shown a picture of George she said yes that was the man I saw I recognized him by the glasses he wore in his white hair the only thing different was that he was a brighter white.
In 1973 the lighthouse was added to the national Registry of historic sites and in 1995 the state of Michigan made the property into a state park and donated it to the Township.
This historical lighthouse remains open today for all visitors and vacationers to tour seven days a week from May through October.
