Bois
Blanc Island Light
By Dave Wobser
Located on the north end of Bois Blanc
Island, to mark a shoal that juts out into northern Lake Huron. Bois Blanc Island is one
of three island lying in a NW-SE orientation from Michigans Upper Peninsula. The
northern most is Mackinac, then Round, then Bois Blanc.
The lighthouse is a two-story, light-brick,
dwelling with an attached square 38-foot tower jutting out from the front. Built in 1867,
it is the third lighthouse on this location.
The lantern room is 10-sided with a white
roof and ventilator ball. The room originally held a Fourth Order Fresnel Lens. Other
structures on the site included a brick oil shed, brick outhouse and a cement boathouse on
south side of the island.
In 1829 a 65-foot masonry tower with 13 lamps
and reflectors occupied the site. The tower was separate from the keepers quarters. The
tower was destroyed when it fell into the lake during a Dec. 9, 1837 storm.
A second light was built in 1838. The 30-foot
masonry tower had 9 lamps and 14-inch reflectors, with a fourth order lens installed 1857.
This light was demolished to make way for the 1867 light.
The light was decommissioned in 1955 and sold
in 1956. It is a private residence.
A newer 17-foot steel tower, just north of
the (1867) light, houses an automated light.
The only way to view this light is by private
boat. |