Fort Gratiot Lighthouse, Port Huron, Michigan

Fort Gratiot Lighthouse

2800 Omar St.

(810) 982-3659 - All Tours are by Appointment Only

Photograph taken by Tiffany Donelow, February 2003

As early as 1823, the government recognized the importance of protecting commerce on Lake Huron, and on March 3rd of that year, Congress appropriated $3,500.00 to construct a "lighthouse near Fort Gratiot, in Michigan Territory". Winslow Lewis, a Massachusetts Contractor specializing in lighthouses, was awarded the contract, and he, in turn, contracted Daniel Warren of Rochester, N.Y., to build the tower and the keepers dwelling. On April 2, 1825 Congress appropriated an additional $5,000.00 for the project and on November 1st it was completed. The tower rose 32 feet above ground level, was 18 feet in diameter at the bottom, and 9 1/2 feet at the top. It was the first lighthouse constructed on Michigan shores.

The new lighthouse was found to be built not according to original specifications. The stairs were so steep they had to be ascended sideways and the trapdoor was barely large enough to squeeze through. It was also found to be poorly located and barely visible until boats were too near the mouth of the St. Clair River. The lighthouse was also poorly constructed. During the summer of 1828, the walls began cracking and the tower sagged toward the east. Erosion, caused by the current was also eating away the ground and after a violent storm in early September, the tower was very severely damaged. It completely collapsed in late November.

Immediate action was taken to erect a new structure at a better location. $8,000.00 was appropriated for the project by an act of congress on March 2, 1829, Lucius Lyons who later became a U.S. Senator was awarded the contract in April.

The new lighthouse was constructed of brick and was 74 feet high, and 25 feet in diameter. In 1861 the height was increased to 86 feet.

In 1913 the lighthouse was again threatened by a storm, it almost washed off the foundation, and in 1914 the retaining wall was built, and it is still there. Captain Kimball, the keeper at the time of the storm was quoted as saying "I watched waves as high as 30 to 40 feet pounding on the lighthouse, and I think if the storm had lasted another hour the lighthouse would have been wiped out".

The light was originally fitted with an Argand Lamp. In 1857 it was refitted with a Fourth Order Fresnel Lens, which had four times the intensity of the Argand Lamp.

In 1874 a brick duplex was added to the site, after the original keepers dwelling burned down. This was to hold the keeper, his family, and the assistant keeper and his family.

In 1871 a fog signal was constructed on the site. An additional signal was built in 1880. The signals were powered by steam generator and supplied by 8" main. In 1901 a new Fog Signal was built. The building still stands.

The original towers were lighted with reflectors and lamps that burned whale oil brought in yearly through the Erie Canal. The first Fresnel Lens was installed in 1857 after the establishment of the U.S. Lighthouse board. This Fourth Order Lens was later moved to the old Saginaw River Lighthouse when in 1861, the Government increased the height of the Fort Gratiot to 86 feet and installed a third order lens.

The new lens was fixed third order, which showed a white light. By 1867, however, the growth of the railroad industry in Port Huron created confusion for mariners when the locomotive headlamps shined as brightly as the lighthouse. The problem was remedied when the fixed lens at Fort Gratiot switched with the fixed varied with a Flash' lens at Point Aux Barques near Port Hope in Michigan's Thumb. In the early 1930's a rotating beacon was established on the gallery. The present green is its direct descendant and gives Fort Gratiot the honor of being Michigan's oldest continually operating lighthouse.

Today the lighthouse is completely automated, with a range of 16 miles and flashes for one half second every 15 seconds. After more than 170 years since the first light was exhibited at Fort Gratiot a silent sentinel still beams out to guide a new generation of mariners. In 1971 the Michigan Historical Commission named Fort Gratiot Lighthouse a Historical Site.