Cheboygan Main Lighthouse, Cheboygan, MIchigan
CHEBOYGAN MAIN LIGHT
Location: EASTERN POINT OF DUNCAN BAY, LAKE HURON, MICHIGAN
Station Established: 1851
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1859
Operational? NO
Automated? NO
Deactivated: 1930
Foundation Materials: EMPLACED
Construction Materials: BRICK/WOOD
Tower Shape: SQUARE WITH OCTAGONAL LANTERN ROOM
Markings/Pattern: WHITE
Relationship to Other Structure: ATTACHED
Original Lens: FIFTH ORDER FRESNEL
Historical Information:
- The first light at would become known as “Lighthouse Point” in the western part of Duncan Bay was lit in 1851. The 40 foot brick tower was equipped with a fifth order Fresnel lens. It was one of the first Fresnel lens on the Great Lakes. Since the tower was built too close to the shoreline, in only eight years it needed to be replaced.
- The new lighthouse was a dwelling with the tower attached on the roof. The lantern was octagonal and fitted with the fifth order lens from the original tower.
- The Fourteen Foot Shoal Light was built nearby and off-shore in 1930. The Cheboygan Main Light was considered obsolete and was deactivated. The station fell victim to vandals and the elements. By the 1940’s, it was demolished by the Coast Guard.
- The land where the lighthouse stood is now part of the Cheboygan State Park. The remains of the light station are on the park grounds.
Researched and written by Melissa Buckler, a volunteer through the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society.