St. Martin Island Light

St. Martin Island Light is an exoskeleton lighthouse on St. Martin Island. It marks one of four passages between Lake Michigan and the bay of Green Bay.^[8] Constructed in 1905, this light tower is the only example in the US of a pure exoskeletal tower on the Great Lakes. Similar designs exist in Canada.^[9] Painted white, the hexagonal tower is made of iron plates which are supported by six exterior steel posts that have latticed buttresses.^[4][10]

St. Martin Island Light

St. Martin Island Light USCG Archive
Location	St. Martin Island Lake Michigan
Coordinates	45°30′10″N 86°45′27″W
Tower
Constructed	1905
Foundation	Granite[1]
Construction	Steel exoskeleton[1]
Height	75 ft (23 m)[2]
Markings	white with black lantern[1]
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place, Michigan state historic site
Light
First lit	1905
Focal height	81 feet (25 m)[3]
Lens	occulting 4th Order Fresnel illuminated by a 24,000 candlepower incandescent oil vapor lamp. Rotating red and white flash panels.[4] (original), 7.5-inch (190 mm) Tideland Signal acrylic lens[5] (current)
Range	18 nautical miles (33 km; 21 mi)[6]
Characteristic	Al W R 10s: W fl 5s ec.; R fl 5s ec. Light visible from 135° to 355°, dark sector covering island.[6]
St. Martin Island Light Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Michigan State Historic Site
Nearest city	Fairport, Michigan
Area	2 acres (0.81 ha)
MPS	U.S. Coast Guard Lighthouses and Light Stations on the Great Lakes TR
NRHP reference No.	84001387[7]
Added to NRHP	July 19, 1984

The cream city brick lightkeeper's house was modeled after that used for the Plum Island Range Lights.^[4]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 19, 1984, Reference #84001387 as St. Martin Light Station (U.S. Coast Guard/ Great Lakes TR). It is not on the state list/inventory.^[11] A steam fog signal was also installed.^[12] which was thereafter replaced by a diaphone.^[4]

The lighthouse keeper's dwelling has been abandoned and "is in poor condition."^[10]

The light station is closed to the public. It is managed by in partnership with the Little Traverse Bay Band of the Odawa Indian Nation.^[9][13]

References

1. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Michigan". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
2. Pepper, Terry. "Database of Tower Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com. Archived from the original on 2000-09-18. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
3. Pepper, Terry. "Database of Focal Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com. Archived from the original on 2008-08-30. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
4. "Pepper, Terry, Seeing the Light, St. Martin Island Lighthouse".^{[permanent dead link]}
5. "Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, St. Martin Island Light". Archived from the original on 2012-02-23. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
6. Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.
7. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
8. "Wobser, David, St. Martin Island Light". Boatnerd. Archived from the original on 2009-07-27. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
9. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
10. "Lighthouse Depot, St. Martin Island Light". Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
11. "Maritime History Project, Michigan Lighthouses, Inventory of Historic Light Stations, St. Martin Island Light". National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
12. "Saint Martin Island Light Station". Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-11-12., Michigan Historic Sites Online,
13. "Little Traverse Bay Band of the Odawa Indian Nation". Archived from the original on 2011-12-25. Retrieved 2011-11-12.

External links

• Media related to St. Martin Island Light at Wikimedia Commons
• St. Martin Island Light on the World List of Lights
• Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses, which fails to list St. Martin Island Light.
• Interactive map of Lights in Northern Lake Michigan, mapped by Google.
• Map of Michigan Lighthouse in PDF Format.
• Map of lighthouses in western Lake Michigan.^{[permanent dead link]}
• Boudreau, Sophie (April 14, 2020). "A Drone Flew High Above An Uninhabited Island In Michigan And Caught The Most Incredible Footage" (Video). Only in your state.