(Order the print here.)Built in 1868, the wooden lighthouse on Grand Island’s southeast Thumb was th

(Order the print here.)Built in 1868, the wooden lighthouse on Grand Island’s southeast Thumb was the Island’s second light; the first, on its northern coast, stands 175 feet above the water atop on of Superior’s famous sandstone cliffs. This smaller structure had a specific purpose whose responsibility was a serious one: smack in the middle of Superior’s chilling “Shipwreck Coast”, Grand Island provides one of the few harbors for hundreds of miles. But the harbor isn’t free from danger, either – rocky shoals extend from Sand Point on Michigan’s mainland.* With its aim to help guide ships from the east safely through the channel between Grand Island and the shoals, this lighthouse, with a focal plane of only 49 feet, was placed directly across from Sand Point.  Known as either Grand Island Harbor Light or the East Channel Light, this humble tower was operational for only a few decades. In 1891, it was damaged by lightning. By 1898, the shore was heavily eroded. Plans to move the lighthouse back 200 feet were proposed, but instead, its crib was reinforced. Visible in the above photograph, around 300 feet of shoreline was filled in with rocks, brush, and new cribbing. It delayed the incessant erosion caused by the lake’s infamous storms, but the shore and the tower and were still continually beaten. It is reported that after George Prior became lighthouse keeper in 1893, he and his family stayed awake during storms out of fear they would have to flee. Shipwrecks did still happen in and near the harbor, but Keeper Prior was known for his helpfulness and has been recognized for saving the lives of a number of sailors of doomed vessels. In 1905, the Lighthouse Board declared the East Channel Light no longer useful due to the light’s lack of reach and because it was terribly costly to maintain. In 1907, Congress approved and provided funds for range lights to take over the task. The lighthouse and its reservation were sold in 1913 to twenty members of the Munising Moose Lodge, but as maintenance was not kept up, the building continued to deteriorate. Finally, in the 1990s, action was taken. The townspeople and the local newspaper raised awareness, TheEast Channel Lighthouse Rescue Committee (founded by the Alger County Historical Society) raised money with a raffle, the public donated, and the American Lighthouse Foundation wrote a check. Thanks to the volunteers of a caring community, the Grand Island East Channel Lighthouse has been restored not to its original white-painted state, but preserved as the picturesque wooden structure so many of us have come to adore.* In 1860, when requesting approval and financial aid for additional lighting at Grand Island harbor, the committee pleaded thusly:“There is no other harbor of refuge on this bare, rocky, and inhospitable coast from White Fish point to Copper harbor, a distance of about one hundred and fifty miles direct, and one hundred and eighty miles by the coast, with the exception of Marquette, which harbor enjoys a natural protection from northwest and north storms only, and is open to northeast storms. To this is to be added that this reach of coast between White Fish point and Copper harbor is a lee shore to the worst storms of this tempestuous climate, throughout the greater part of its extent.” Sources:http://lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=726http://www.terrypepper.com/Lights/superior/eastchannel/index.htmI’m a photographer who researches her subjects in order to understand them more fully and to provide information for the audience, but mainly as a hobby. If you’ve enjoyed this segment, please consider viewing my store. Thanks! -- source link

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