Poverty Island Lighthouse, Garden, Delta County, Michigan
Built in 1874.
POVERTY ISLAND LIGHT
POVERTY ISLAND/LAKE MICHIGAN
Station Established: 1874
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1874
Operational? YES
Automated? YES 1957
Deactivated: 1976-1982
Foundation Materials: DRESSED STONE/TIMBER
Construction Materials: BRICK
Tower Shape: CONICAL W/OUT LANTERN
Markings/Pattern: WHITE
Relationship to Other Structure: ATTACHED
Original Lens: FOURTH ORDER 1874
Historical Information:
Lighthouse is a duplicate of Wisconsin’s Sturgeon Point.
1867 – Lighthouse Board first requested $18,000 for a Light Station to be built on Poverty Island. Congress did not approve this appropriation until 1873.
1875 – An additional $3,000 was asked for and approved.
1885 – Fog signal building built.
1894 – Oil house built.
1957 – Lighthouse automated.
1976 – 300mm lens installed on a pole to replace the light. The Fresnel lens and the lantern were removed from the tower and the tower was then sealed. The lantern remained on the property.
1980s – The lantern was removed from the premises and is now on the Sand Island Lighthouse in Escanaba, Michigan.
Researched and written by Marie Vincent, a volunteer through the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society.