- Old Presque Isle Light
-
This article is about the lighthouse on Lake Huron in Northern Michigan. For the lighthouse in Pennsylvania, see Erie Land Light.
Old Presque Isle Light 
Location Presque Isle, Michigan Coordinates 45°20.519′N 83°26.705′W / 45.341983°N 83.445083°WCoordinates: 45°20.519′N 83°26.705′W / 45.341983°N 83.445083°W Year first constructed 1840 Year first lit 1840 Deactivated 1871 Foundation dressed stone/timber Construction lower 2/3 stone, upper brick Tower shape conical, separate building Markings / pattern white/black lantern & parapet Height 38 feet (12 m) Focal height 36 feet (11 m) Current lens none Fog signal Bell ARLHS number USA-668 USCG number Old Presque Isle LightNRHP Reference#: 73000957[1] Significant dates Added to NRHP: April 11, 1973 Designated MSHS: October 14, 1964[2] The Old Presque Isle Light was the first lighthouse in the Presque Isle, Michigan area, built in 1840, supported physically by two-thirds stone and one-third brick,[3] and supported financially by funds appropriated by Congress two years earlier of $5,000.[4] The tower and dwelling did not last long in the harsh weather, however, and by 1867 they were deteriorated enough for Congress to find need for a newer station. It presently is not operational and is a museum.[5]
Contents
History
Historical Marker of Old Presque Isle Lighthouse
This old one, though, has not been completely dismissed, at least by the supertitious. Lake legend says the station still provides a residence for ghosts who haunt the light.[6] The ghost of George Parris, a former museum caretaker who is now deceased is said to haunt the light. Though the light has long since been deactivated, the tale says that George returns habitually to light the lamp.
Other accounts of Mr. Parris include a young girl who was exploring the tower alone. When she returned, she had told her parents that she was talking to a "nice old man" in the tower's lamp room. It was later found that nobody else had been in the tower at that time. The girl correctly identified the man as former keeper George Parris from a photo kept in the adjoining cottage/museum.
One day, Parris' widowed wife was going out to run an errand during an intense lightning storm. She was about to leave the cottage, but she claimed that some unusual force was blocking the exit. Just then lightning struck directly outside the cottage. To this day, Mrs. Parris believes that it was the spirit of her deceased husband that kept her from certain electrocution.
The New Presque Isle Lighthouse located a few miles north, also has its share of hauntings. One keeper’s wife, who was locked up and not allowed to leave, suffered from the severe isolation and went insane. Many claim to hear her when visiting the site.
The Lighthouse Board – that service responsible for building and maintaining lights most effectively – decided to move the lighthouse location about two miles (3 km) north, where vessels which were farther from shore could still easily see the light. The tower was also designed to be 113 feet (34 m) in height, more than 80 feet (24 m) taller than the older one. Congress appropriated 7,000 dollars to make this possible in March 1867, and the New Presque Isle Lighthouse was soon erected.
Fresnel Lens from the Old Presque Isle LightThis lighthouse and its sister, the New Presque Isle Light, are east of Grand Lake (Presque Ile, Michigan), and sit on the peninsula.
This light is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Reference #73000957 Name of Listing: OLD PRESQUE ISLE LIGHTHOUSE.[7]
A Fresnel lens that was associated with this light was donated and is now on display at the Beaver Island Head Light.[8]
See also
References
Official Michigan Historical Marker of Old Presque Isle Lighthouse at the entrance designated as Michigan's historical registered building number 33.
Specialized further reading
- Hermanson, Don, True Lighthouse Hauntings, Revisited including Old Presque Isle Light.[9]
Footnotes
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/.
- ^ State of Michigan (2009). "Presque Isle Lighthouse". http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hso/sites/12408.htm. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
- ^ Wobser, David, Old Presque Isle Light article, boatnerd.com
- ^ Old Presque Isle - Michigan, Harbor Lights.
- ^ Old Presque Isle Lighthouse museum, Lighthouse Depot.
- ^ Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Web Site
- ^ Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Old Presque Isle Light.
- ^ Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light - Old Presque Isle Light.
- ^ Hermanson, Don, True Lighthouse Hauntings, Revisited, (Keewenaw Video) including Old Presque Isle Light. (cover art)
External links
- Presque Isle Township Museum Society - Tour information of keeper's house museum, New Presque Isle Light and Old Presque Isle Light
- Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses.
- Anderson, Kraig, Lighthouse Friends, Old Presque Isle Lighthouse.
- Interactive map, list, information for lighthouses in North and West Lake Huron.
- Lighthouse Central, Old Presque Isle Light The Ultimate Guide to East Michigan Lighthouses by Jerry Roach (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - July 2006). ISBN 0974797715; ISBN 9780974797717.
- Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Eastern Lower Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/miel.htm.
- Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Old Presque Isle Light.
- National Park Service Maritime Heritage, Inventory of Historic Lights, Presque Isle Lights.
- Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light - Old Presque Isle Light.
- Additional pictures of the lighhouse and museum artifacts.
- Michigan.gov website has Map of Michigan Lighthouses.
- "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Michigan". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHMI.asp. Presque Isle Lights.
- (PDF) Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes. Light List. United States Coast Guard. http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pdf/lightLists/LightList%20V7.pdf.
- Wobser, David, Boatnerd.com Old Presque Isle Light.
Lighthouses of Michigan See also: List of lighthouses in MichiganNorthern upper peninsula Au Sable Light • Big Bay Point Light • Copper Harbor Light • Copper Harbor Front Range Light • Crisp Point Light • Eagle Harbor Light • Eagle Harbor Range Lights • Eagle River Light • Fourteen Mile Point Light • Grand Island East Channel Light • Grand Island Harbor Rear Range Light • Grand Island North Light • Granite Island Light • Gull Rock Light Station • Huron Island Light • Isle Royale Light • Manitou Island Light Station • Marquette Harbor Light • Mendota (Bete Grise) Light • Munising Front Range Light • Munising Rear Range Light • Portage River (Jacobsville) Light • Passage Island Light • Rock Harbor Light • Rock of Ages Light • Sand Hills Light • St. Martin Island Light • Stannard Rock Light • Thunder Bay Island Light • Whitefish Point LightSouthern upper peninsula DeTour Reef Light • Manistique East Breakwater Light • Martin Reef Light • Menominee Pier Light • Naubinway Island Light • Peninsula Point Light • Poverty Island Light • Sand Point Light Escanaba • Sand Point Light Baraga • Seul Choix Light • Squaw Island Light • White Shoal LightSt. Mary's River Frying Pan Island Light • Pipe Island Light • Point Iroquois Light • Round Island Light (St. Mary's River) • Six Mile Point Range Rear LightPortage River/Ship Canal Keweenaw Waterway (Portage Lake) Lower Entrance • Keweenaw Waterway Upper Entrance Light • Rouleau Point Range Front and Rear LightsStraits of Mackinac Bois Blanc Light • McGulpin Point Light • Old Mackinac Point Light • Round Island Light • Round Island Passage • St. Helena Island LightWestern lower peninsula Beaver Island Harbor Light • Beaver Island Head Light • Big Sable Point Light • Charlevoix Light • Charlevoix South Pier Light • Frankfort Light • Frankfort South Range Light • Grand Haven Light • Grand Haven South Pierhead Outer Light • Grand Haven Main Light • Gray's Reef Light • Holland Harbor Light • Ile Aux Galets • Little Sable Point Light • Little Traverse Light • Ludington Light • Manistee Main Light • Manistee Pierhead lights • Miller Memorial Light • Mission Point Light • Mission Point Light (2) • Muskegon Breakwater Light • Muskegon Pier Light • Point Betsie Light • South Fox Island • South Haven Light • South Manitou Island Light • Waugoshance Light • White River LightEastern lower peninsula Alpena Light • Bellanger Park (Ecorse) Light • Caseville Harbor (Saginaw Bay) • Belle Isle Light • Charity Island Light • Cheboygan River Range Front Light • Cheboygan Crib Light • Detroit River Light • Fort Gratiot Light • Forty Mile Point Light • Fourteen Foot Shoal Light • Gibraltar Light • Gravelly Shoal Light • Harbor Beach Light • Manning Memorial Light • Mariners Memorial (River Rouge) Light • New Presque Isle Light • Old Presque Isle Light • Poe Reef Light • Pointe aux Barques Light • Port Austin Light • Port Sanilac Light • Saginaw River Range Front Light • Saginaw River Rear Range Light • Spectacle Reef Light • St. Clair Flats Front and Rear Range Light • Sturgeon Point Light • Tawas Point Light • Tri-Centennial Light of Detroit • William Livingtone Memorial LightHistorical (lost) lights Au Sable North Pierhead • Clinton River Light • Ecorse Light • Ecorse Range Rear • Gibraltar Light • Grassy Island Lighthouse • Grassy Island North Channel Range • Grassy Island South Channel Range • Grosse Isle South Channel Range • Harwood Point East Range Front (St. Mary's River) • Mama Juda Light • Mama Juda Range Front • Middle Lake George • Monroe Pier • New Buffalo • North Manitou Island • Rouleau Point Range Front and Rear • Saginaw Bay • Sand Beach North Entrance East • Squaw Point • St. Mary's River Lower Range Front • Turtle Island Light • Vidal Shoals Channel Range Front and Rear • Windmill Point Range Front and Rear • Winter Point Range FrontRelated – Lightship Huron, List of lifesaving stations in MichiganU.S. National Register of Historic Places Topics Lists by states Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • WyomingLists by territories Lists by associated states Other Categories:- Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places
- Lighthouses in Michigan
- National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
- Michigan State Historic Sites
- Museums in Presque Isle County, Michigan
- Lighthouse museums in Michigan
- Buildings and structures completed in 1840
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
