South Manitou Lighthouse
Approaching our destination, South Manitou Island, a little island about 3 miles across some 15 miles from the Michigan mainland. The South Manitou Lighthouse welcomes us.
This is the third lighthouse at this point, the first having been constructed in 1839. That light was replaced in 1858, but the tower wasn't tall enough and light not bright enough to be useful. This 65-foot tall tower was built in 1871, and operated until the Coast Guard declared it obsolete and shut it down in 1958. The National Park Service took it over when Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was formed in 1970. They reinstalled a light in the tower in 2008, which they operate seasonally.
South Manitou Lighthouse
Approaching our destination, South Manitou Island, a little island about 3 miles across some 15 miles from the Michigan mainland. The South Manitou Lighthouse welcomes us.
This is the third lighthouse at this point, the first having been constructed in 1839. That light was replaced in 1858, but the tower wasn't tall enough and light not bright enough to be useful. This 65-foot tall tower was built in 1871, and operated until the Coast Guard declared it obsolete and shut it down in 1958. The National Park Service took it over when Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was formed in 1970. They reinstalled a light in the tower in 2008, which they operate seasonally.