Port Austin Lighthouse

Infobox_Lighthouse


caption = Port Austin Reef Light
location = Port Austin, Michigan
coordinates = coord|44|05|N|82|59|W|
yearlit = 1878
automated = 1953
yeardeactivated =
foundation = Brick, cement, crushed stone
construction = Brick
shape = Square
height = convert|60|ft|m|sing=on tower, convert|76|ft|m|sing=on focal plane
lens = Fourth order Fresnel lens
currentlens = Tidelands 300 mm acrylic
intensity =
range = convert|16.5|mi|km
marking = Buff square tower with attached house w/red roof. [ [http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pubs/LightLists/V7COMPLETE.PDF Volume 7, US Coast Guard Lightlist (PDF).] ]
characteristic = White, every 6 seconds.
admiralty =
NGA =
ARLHS = USA-648
USCG = 7-10275

Port Austin Lighthouse (or Port Austin Reef Light) is a lighthouse off the shore of Lake Huron, about convert|2.5|mi|km north of Port Austin, Huron County Michigan sitting on a rocky reef (shoal), which is just north of the tip of the Thumb and a real hazard to navigation. The Station was established and the light first lit in 1878, and its pier was modified in 1899. It is still operational and is automated. The Foundation materials are a pier, and the tower is constructed of yellow brick, with buff markings. It is square, convert|60|ft|m tall, with an attached keeper house. However, the focal plain is convert|76|ft|m. It originally had a Fourth Order Fresnel lens (pronounced [freɪ'nel] ) by Henry Lepaute of Paris and installed in 1899. The optic was 300 mm Glass. In 1985 the lens was replaced by a 12-volt solar powered Tidelands Signal 300 mm acrylic optic, [ [http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/closeups/illumination/acrylic/300mm/300mm.htm Tidelands 300 mm optic, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.] ] which eliminated the need to maintain the submarine cable. [ [http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/huron/portaustin/portaustin.htm Extensive history of the Port Austin Lighthouse] at Seeing the Light by Terry Pepper.] [ [http://www.lighthousedepot.com/database/uniquelighthouse.cfm?value=522 Lighthouse depot on Port Austin Light.] ]

Current status and activities

In 1990, volunteers from the Port Austin Reef Light Association engaged in an "heroic effort" to oust a colony of seagulls that had taken over the building, and then screened and reroofed it. Restoration efforts continue. [ [http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080520/SPECIAL01/80519001 Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses.] ] Decking has been covered with galvanized metal shingles, and painted in the bright red that is historically accurate. Railings were affixed to the access ladder, and safety chains edging the deck were replaced. Installed also were a new brick chimney and 18 new windows. In 1990, PARLA's license to renovate the structure was extended through 2020. [ [http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/huron/portaustin/portaustin.htm Extensive history of the Port Austin Lighthouse] at Seeing the Light by Terry Pepper.]

Restoration is being conducted by Port Austin Reef Light Association, P.O. 546, Port Austin Michigan 48467 USA Attn: Lou Schillinger phone [phone] or [phone]. [ [http://www.portaustinarea.com/directory/view.php?id=97&page=0&cat=9&subcat=0&subsubcat=0 Port Austin Reef Light Association.] ]

The light is not open for tours. [ [http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/WEBLIGHTHOUSES/LHMI.html US Coast Guard's complete list and summary of Michigan lights, including information and photographs of Port Austin light.] ] However, it is possible to photograph the lighthouse from shore, although it takes a long lens and digital zoom. [ [http://www.lighthousesrus.org/HuronW.htm Interactive map, list, information for lighthouses in North and West Lake Huron.] ]

External links

* [http://lighthouse.boatnerd.com/gallery/Huron/PortAustinReef.htm Boardnerd.com, Port Austin Reef Light.]
* [http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080520/SPECIAL01/80519001 Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses.]
* [http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/huron/portaustin/portaustin.htm Extensive history of the Port Austin Lighthouse] at Seeing the Light by Terry Pepper.
* [http://www.lighthousesrus.org/Maps/GL/HuronW.htm Interactive map of lighthouses in the Thumb/Lake Huron area.]
* [http://www.lighthousesrus.org/HuronW.htm Interactive map, list, information for lighthouses in North and West Lake Huron.]
* [http://www.lighthousecentral.com/lighthouse_gallery.php4?lighthouse=Port%20Austin%20Reef%20Light Lighthouse Central, Port Austin Lighthouse Photographs, History and Directions, "The Ultimate Guide to East Michigan Lighthouses" by Jerry Roach] (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - July 2006).] ISBN 0974797715; ISBN 9780974797717.
* [http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/miel.htm Lighthouse Digest, Port Austin Light, University of North Carolina.]
* [http://www.nps.gov/history/maritime/light/ptaustin.htm National Park System Inventory Historic Lighthouses, Port Austin Reef Light.]
*Michigan.gov website has a [http://www.michigan.gov/documents/hal_mhc_shpo_lightmap_50933_7.pdf Map of Michigan Lighthouses] .
* [http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=172 Description Port Austin Light at www.lighthousefriends.com]
* [http://www.michiganlighthouse.org/Lighthouses/lighthouse_detail.php78.htm Michigan Lighthouse project, Port Austin]
* U.S. Coast Guard [http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHMI.asp 's complete list of Michigan lights with photographs and descriptions, including Port Austin light.]
* [http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pubs/LightLists/V7COMPLETE.PDF Volume 7, US Coast Guard Lightlist (PDF).]

Bibliography and further reading

* [http://www.michiganlighthouse.org/bibliography.html Bibliography on Michigan lighthouses.]
* Baranski, Connie. "The Port Austin Reef Lighthouse." Central Michigan University Term Paper, 1970.
* Crompton, Samuel Willard & Michael J. Rhein, "The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses" (2002) ISBN 1592231020; ISBN 978-1592231027.
* Hyde, Charles K., and Ann and John Mahan. "The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes." Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995. ISBN 0814325548 ISBN 9780814325544.
* Jones, Ray & Bruce Roberts, "American Lighthouses" (Globe Pequot, September 1, 1998, 1st Ed.) ISBN 0762703245; ISBN 978-0762703241.
* Jones, Ray,"The Lighthouse Encyclopedia, The Definitive Reference" (Globe Pequot, January 1, 2004, 1st ed.) ISBN 0762727357; ISBN 978-0762727353.
* Noble, Dennis, "Lighthouses & Keepers: U. S. Lighthouse Service and Its Legacy" (Annapolis: U. S. Naval Institute Press, 1997). ISBN 1557506388; ISBN 9781557506382.
* Oleszewski, Wes, "Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses", (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
* Penrod, John, "Lighthouses of Michigan", (Berrien Center, Michigan: Penrod/Hiawatha, 1998) ISBN 9780942618785 ISBN 9781893624238.
*
* Putnam, George R., "Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States", (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1933).
* United States Coast Guard, "Aids to Navigation", (Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1945).
* [http://www.uscg.mil/History/weblighthouses/h_lhbib.asp United States Coast Guard, "Aids to Navigation Historical Bibliography".]
*
* Wagner, John L., "Michigan Lighthouses: An Aerial Photographic Perspective", (East Lansing, Michigan: John L. Wagner, 1998) ISBN 1880311011 ISBN 9781880311011.
* Wargin, Ed, "Legends of Light: A Michigan Lighthouse Portfolio" (Ann Arbor Media Group, 2006). ISBN 9781587262517.
* Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, "Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia" Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1550463993.

Notes

ee also

*Lighthouses in the United States