Did you know that Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state? Michigan has both a rich history and an abundant inventory of lighthouses. Most people would think Florida or California would, but the Great Lakes State exceeds them all with over 150 active and inactive lighthouses. These unique structures are synonymous with Michigan’s shorelines. For a unique twist to our annual Road Trip series, this season we are going to exclusively explore the historical lighthouses found on the shores of the state. We wanted to show this new perspective to help reinforce MAF’s mission of “Advancing awareness of how architecture enriches life.” If you are planning a trip to the shores of Lake Huron this summer, please consider visiting some of the following to learn more about Michigan Lighthouses.
Port Sanilac Lighthouse: 81 South Lake Street, Port Sanilac
In 1868, the Lighthouse Board requested an appropriation of $30,000 from Congress to construct a station near the Port Sanilac area. The request was increased to $40,00 in 1873. Congress finally responded in 1885 with an appropriation of only $20,000. Eleventh District Engineer Captain Charles E. L. B. Davis, designed a station that could be built within the tight limitations of the budget, while still creating a design that was both unique and architecturally significant in its elegance. Completed in 1886, the lighthouse consists of an octagonal brick tower that begins at 14 feet in diameter and tapers to a diameter of 9 feet. With a total height of 59 feet and situated 10 feet above lake level, the light is visible for 13 miles at sea.
Harbor Beach Lighthouse: 1 Ritchie Dr, Harbor Beach
The first lighthouse at Harbor Beach was an iron skeletal structure built on the break wall of the Harbor of Refuge. It was recorded in an old lighthouse log that lightkeeper Captain Trescott feared the tower would topple into the lake whenever large storm waves crashed into the breakwall. The new Lighthouse was completed in 1885 and was built on a foundation separated from the breakwall to prevent wave energy from shaking the tower. The outer shell of the lighthouse is made of cast iron, while brick and plaster line the inner walls.
Port aux Barques Lighthouse: 7320 Lighthouse Road, Port Hope
The Pointe aux Barques Lighthouse ranks among the ten oldest lighthouses in Michigan. The original lighthouse was constructed in 1848 with stone from the Lake Huron shore. By 1857, the impacts of weather and a fire inside the house created the need for a new structure. The new keeper’s house and attached 89-foot tower were built of brick. The light is still an active aid to navigation, making Pointe aux Barques one of the oldest continuously operating Lights on the Great Lakes. The Thumb Bottomland Preserve holds 105 known wrecks, reflecting the danger posed by shoals surrounding Pointe aux Barques.
Port Austin Reef Light: Lake Huron, near Port Austin
The Port Austin Reef Light is in Lake Huron, approximately 2½ miles north of the Port Austin Harbor. The station was established in 1878. After a devastating fire in 1899, the building was modified into the brick structure that stands today. The lighthouse is positioned on the critical juncture of Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron serving as a “turning point” for both northbound shipping and west bound shipping as a turn into Saginaw Bay. The light acts as part of the northern westernmost point of the Thumb Area Bottomlands Preserve which extends 40 miles south and holds 22 documented shipwrecks. The lighthouse is still operational and acts as an automated beacon to this day. Tours are scheduled to begin in the summer of 2026.
Saginaw River Rear Range Lighthouse: Saginaw River, ½ mile south of the mouth at Saginaw Bay
In 1867, the United States Army Corps of Engineers dredged the Saginaw River channel for larger vessels to navigate the river. Eleventh district engineer Major Godfrey Weitzel’s design for the rear range tower and dwelling was unique, a large elevated concrete base supported a combined two-story square brick dwelling and a 53-foot-tall tapered square tower. The lighthouse is located on private property and is undergoing extensive renovation. Unfortunately, it is not accessible but may be viewed from the water.
Tawas Point Lighthouse: 583-1199 Tawas Beach and Point Rd, East Tawas
Tawas Point offered ships protection in Tawas Bay from the winds of Lake Huron, but it was also dangerous to navigate the end of the point in severe weather or darkness. The original rubble stone tower was completed in 1852, by 1867 the tower was disintegrating. The construction of the new conical tower was completed in 1876. Connected to the tower by a covered passageway, there is a redbrick two-story dwelling that has eight rooms. The light station is located within the Tawas Point State Park and is open to the public.
Sturgeon Point Lighthouse: 6071 East Point Road, Harrisville
Completed in November 1870, The Sturgeon Point Lighthouse is located five miles north of Harrisville on Lake Huron. The design is regarded as a classic historic example of a Cape Cod style Great Lakes Lighthouse. The brick tower is close to 71-feet tall and 16-feet in diameter at the base. The keeper’s house is connected to the tower with a covered walkway and is now a maritime museum, which is open from Memorial Day to mid-September. The tower is open to the public and the grounds are open all year. The U.S. Coast Guard still maintains the light.
Alpena Lighthouse: Located at the end of the northern Alpena breakwall at the entrance to the Thunder Bay River
The Alpena Light, also known as the Thunder Bay River Lighthouse or Alpena Breakwater Light, is a light station on Lake Huron near Alpena. Standing on the north breakwater of Alpena Harbor, the light marks the entrance to the Thunder Bay River from Thunder Bay. The current light station, built in 1914, replaced earlier wooden structures which had been in use since 1877. The current light station is a weather-protected structure on a steel frame. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, and the state inventory list the same year.
Thunder Bay Island Lighthouse: Thunder Bay Island (approximately 12 miles east of Alpena)
One of the oldest light stations on Lake Huron is located on Thunder Bay Island. Thunder Bay is the outermost island in a group of islands connected to the north point of Thunder Bay. The light tower was first constructed in 1832 and was built to warn mariners of the dangerous reefs extending from the island. Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary was formed in 2000 to protect one of the country’s best-preserved and historically significant collections of shipwrecks. Ranging from an 1844 side-wheel steamer to a modern, 500-foot-long freighter, the sanctuary’s shipwrecks are a microcosm of maritime commerce on the Great Lakes.
Middle Island Lighthouse: Middle Island, Lake Huron, 10 miles north of Alpena
Middle Island Light Station is located in Lake Huron, halfway between Thunder Bay Island and Presque Isle. There are seven buildings on the island, including the light tower. The conical brick lighthouse has been painted white with an orange band in the middle. The light is 78-feet above the water and can be seen for 17 miles. The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
Old Presque Isle Lighthouse: 5295 East Grand Lake Road, Presque Isle
The Old Presque Isle Lighthouse is one of the oldest surviving lighthouses on the Great Lakes. Built in 1840 by Jeremiah Moors, the Old Presque Isle Lighthouse features two main structures, a keepers dwelling and a light tower. The stone and brick tower measure thirty feet tall and eighteen feet in diameter. Visitors can climb the hand-hewn stone steps for a panoramic view of the Lake Huron shoreline and Presque Isle Harbor.
New Presque Isle Lighthouse: 4500 East Grand Lake Road, Presque Isle
Located on the Lake Huron shoreline near Presque Isle Harbor, the New Presque Isle Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse tower accessible to the public on the Great Lakes. Built in 1870, this 113-foot-tall lighthouse has a diameter of 19-feet at ground level and 12-feet at the parapet. Designed by Army Engineers Orlando M. Poe and William Raynolds, the lighthouse is one of nine “Poe Lights” on the Great Lakes. The design is easily recognizable by the four windows evenly spaced below the lantern room and the functional wrought-iron brackets supporting the gallery.
Forty Mile Point Lighthouse: 7323 US-23, Rogers City
The Forty Mile Point Light is a lighthouse in Presque Isle County near Hammond Bay on the western shore of Lake Huron in Rogers Township, Michigan USA. Unlike most Great Lakes lighthouses, Forty Mile Point Light does not mark a significant harbor or river mouth. Rather, it was constructed so that from Mackinaw Point to the Saint Clair River, one would never be out of viewing range of a lighthouse. Completed in 1896, the lighthouse is built of red brick and features a twelve-foot-square tower centered on the lakeward face of a two-story duplex.
Poe Reef Lighthouse: Lake Huron (2 miles offshore), 6 miles east of Cheboygan
Built in 1929, The Poe Reef Lighthouse is located offshore to mark a dangerous shallow area. The South Channel is used by ships passing between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. The channel runs between Bois Blanc Island and the Michigan mainland. A 25-foot square, 3-story building is topped by a smaller, square fourth story, sitting on a 64-foot square concrete pier. The first level is painted black, the second and third painted white, and the fourth level is black. The Poe Reef Lighthouse was one of the first two in the United States to be equipped with synchronized radio beacons and fog signals. These signals allowed mariners to note the time interval between the arrival of the radio signal and sound signal and calculate the vessel’s distance from the lighthouse.
Fourteen Foot Shoal Lighthouse: Lake Huron (offshore), 1 mile northwest of Cheboygan Point
Similar in concept to the Poe Reef Lighthouse, the Fourteen Foot Shoal Lighthouse was named to note that the lake is only 14 feet deep at this point, which is a hazard to navigation, ships, and mariners. This lighthouse was an early experiment in automation. The lighthouse keeper from the Poe Reef Light could control this lighthouse using a radio beacon.
Cheboygan Crib Light: Gordon Turner Park, Cheboygan
First lit in November 1884, the light was a welcome sign for navigators coming into Cheboygan. When the crib deteriorated severely in the 1980’s, the Coast Guard announced its intention to scrap the building and replace it with a red buoy. In 1984, the city convinced the Coast Guard to relocate the tower to the pier in Gordon Turner Park, where it sits to this day.
Bois Blanc Island Lighthouse: Bois Blanc Island
Bois Blanc Island Light was the second light station established on Lake Huron. The original lighthouse at the station was a 65-foot masonry tower and keeper’s quarters. Built dangerously close to the surf, the tower fell into the lake in 1837. Built in 1867, the lighthouse is located on the north end of Bois Blanc Island, to mark a shoal that juts out into northern Lake Huron. The Bois Blanc Island lighthouse is a two-story light-brick dwelling with an attached square 38-foot tower. Standing 18 feet tall, the lighthouse is currently a private residence that has an attached keeper’s quarters and is only visible from the water.