Peninsula Point Light, southern tip of the Stonington Peninsula, Bay de Noc township, Delta County, Michigan
Built in 1865.
PENINSULA POINT LIGHT
PENINSULA POINT, LAKE MICHIGAN, MICHIGAN
Station Established: 1856
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1866
Operational? NO
Automated? 1922
Deactivated: 1936
Foundation Materials: NATURAL/EMPLACED
Construction Materials: BRICK
Tower Shape: SQUARE
Markings/Pattern: NATURAL WITH BLACK LANTERN
Relationship to Other Structure: SEPARATE (ORIGINALLY ATTACHED TO DWELLING)
Original Lens: FOURTH ORDER FRESNEL
HISTORICAL INFORMATION:
The name of the site is listed as both Peninsula Point and Point Peninsula. The dangerous shoals that extend from Stonington Peninsula and the natural turn at Point Peninsula make Peninsula Point the logical choice for a light station. Congress appropriated $5,000 for the station in 1856. However, due to problems with obtaining a title to the land, the money was recalled and it would take ten years before a station was finally built on the site.
A one and a half story dwelling was built from “cream city brick” with a 40 foot tower built into the southern gable. A fourth order Fresnel lens was installed. The light was automated in 1922. The shipping lane moved further south by the 1930’s. A new light was built on the Minneapolis Shoal and was illuminated in 1934. By 1936 the Peninsula Point Lighthouse was no longer needed and deactivated.
The US Forest Service took ownership of the light station in 1937. The Stonington Grange restored the house and added picnic grounds. They won an award for the work they did. Unfortunately, the keeper’s dwelling suffered a fire in 1959 and was demolished. The tower was repaired in 1962. It is no longer an active aid to navigation and is open to the public. The site is part of the Hiawatha National Forest and is an optimum site to witness the migration of the Monarch butterflies.
Researched and written by Melissa Buckler, a volunteer through the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society.