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Photographer:
Jeffrey W. Churill
Photographer:
Keith W. Churill
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Harbor Beach Harbor
Beach, MI |
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 Built :
1885
Construction :
Conical, Cast Iron
Status :
Active
Location :
Harbor Beach, MI breakwater
Height
: 49 feet
Access :
Boat, about 1/4 mile out from the harbor on the
breakwater.
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In the late 1800's, the ships that sailed the Lakes where quite
small. If the weather turned bad, they had to find a safe haven.
This Light and its breakwater where built to provide a much needed
shelter for any vessel caught in the fury of Lake Huron between Port Huron
and Saginaw Bay. Numerous
shipwrecks are scattered
around this area, those ships trying to
make the harbor and failing to do so. This light is a very welcome site for the
pleasure boaters that travel along Lake Huron today.
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Lighthouse
History :
The Sand Beach harbor of refuge, now known as Harbor
Beach, was started in 1873 and completed in 1885 by the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers. This was a very expensive project for the time costing
nearly $1 million dollars. Remnants of the once busy life saving station
are still present and protected from vandalism by fences. The dormitory
with it's watch tower and rescue boathouse bring a mysterious feeling
with Lake Huron as a backdrop. This 38 foot tall conical brick structure
rests on a 38 by 57 foot timber crib. The conical shape is 22 feet in
diameter and 2 feet thick at the base and 18 feet in diameter at the
parapet. The watch room is
10 sided and constructed of cast iron. |
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Photographer:
Keith W. Churill
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The total height of the lighthouse creates a lens focal
plane of 53 feet above lake level. The lighthouse is now automated with
an electric motor turning the Fourth Order Fresnel lens. The ten panel
lens was manufactured by "Barbier & Fenestre, Constructeurs,
Paris, 1884" with a center "bulls-eye" flash panel.
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