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Grays Reef Light Station

Location	In northeastern Lake Michigan, 3.8 miles (6.1 km) west of Waugoshance Island
Coordinates	45°46′0″N 85°9′12″W / 45.76667°N 85.15333°W / 45.76667; -85.15333
Tower
Foundation	Submerged stone and concrete crib
Construction	Steel, reinforced concrete
Automated	1976
Height	65 feet (20 m)
Shape	Octagonal
Markings	White with black lantern
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place
Racon	G
Light
First lit	1936
Focal height	25 m (82 ft)
Lens	Third and a half order Fresnel lens (original), 7.5-inch (190 mm) (current)
Range	15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi).
Characteristic	Fl R 10s
Grays Reef Light Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	In northeastern Lake Michigan, 3.8 miles (6.1 km) west of Waugoshance Island
Nearest city	Bliss Township, Michigan
Area	0.6 acres (0.24 ha)
Built by	Greiling Brothers Company
Architect	U.S. Lighthouse Service 11th Dist.; Office of Supt. of Lighthouses
Architectural style	Art Deco
MPS	Light Stations of the United States MPS
NRHP reference No.	05001210
Added to NRHP	November 9, 2005

The Grays Reef Light is a lighthouse located in northeastern Lake Michigan, 3.8 miles (6.1 km) west of Waugoshance Island in Bliss Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

History

In the 1880s, as shipments of iron ore increased through the Straits of Mackinac, shippers began advocating for better lighting of the shoals in the area. In 1889, Congress appropriated $60,000 to construct three lightvessels to be moored at Simmons Reef, White Shoals, and here at Grays Reef. The three vessels, designated LV55, LV56, and LV57, were constructed by Blythe Craig Shipbuilding of Toledo, Ohio, and were put in service in late 1891. LV57 served for every shipping season on Grays Reef until 1923, when its hull had deteriorated to a point where it was removed from service. LV103 (the Lightship Huron) served on Grays reef from 1923–27, when LV56 was transferred to the station. LV56 lasted only two years until it, too deteriorated enough to be removed from service. LV103 was returned to Grays Reef for the first part of the 1929 season, and was then replaced with LV99.

By this time, with improvements in underwater construction, it had become feasible to construct a permanent light station on Grays Reef, rather than depending on a moored lightvessel. In 1934, Congress approved funding for a new station. The Greiling Brothers Company was hired to construct the light station, and work began in the summer of 1934. The structure was finished in September 1936, two months behind schedule and over budget.

In 1937, a radio beacon and 40 feet (12 m) tower was installed at the station; the tower was removed in 2010. In 1939, the United States Coast Guard took over operational control. The lighthouse was staffed until 1976, when a solar-powered system was installed. The lighthouse now has a 7.5-inch (190 mm) 12-volt DC acrylic Tideland Signal optic.

Description

The Grays Reef Light is built to exactly the same plan as the Minneapolis Shoal Light, built at approximately the same time. The design is a modification of one created by F. P. Dillon and W. G. Will, which was used in Conneaut, Ohio and Huron, Ohio.

The light sits on a square reinforced concrete pier, 30 feet (9.1 m) high and 64 feet (20 m) on a side. Atop the pier is a two-story base, 15-foot (4.6 m) high and 30 feet (9.1 m) on a side. The cellar and first floor in the base were built to house diesel generators, boilers, and compressors to provide power and heat to the light, fog signal, and keeper's quarters. The second floor of the base housed the keeper's quarters. The lighthouse tower is placed in the center of the building roof. The tower is 65 feet (20 m) tall, and tapers from 16 feet (4.9 m) at the base to 10 feet (3.0 m) beneath the gallery. The entire light is covered on the exterior with steel plates. The lantern atop the tower has helical astragals, and housed a red 3-1/2 order Fresnel lens.

References

1. ^ "Inventory of Historic Light Stations, Michigan Lighthouses: Gray's Reef Light". National Park Service Maritime Heritage Program. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
2. ^ "Grays Reef Light". Seeing The Light. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
3. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
4. Dave Wobser, Grays Reef Light, Lighthouse.Boatnerd.com, archived from the original on May 5, 2012, retrieved April 10, 2012
5. ^ Charles K. Hyde; Ann Mahan; John Mahan (1986), The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes, Wayne State University Press, pp. 106–107, ISBN 0814325548

External links

• Grays Reef Light Station on the World List of Lights

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Historical (lost) lights	Au Sable North Pierhead Belle Isle Clinton River Ecorse Ecorse Range Rear Gibraltar Grassy Island Grassy Island North Channel Range Lights Grassy Island South Channel Range Lights Grosse Ile North Channel Range Lights Grosse Ile South Channel Range Lights Harwood Point East Range Front Kalamazoo River Mama Juda Mama Juda Range Front Manistee Main Middle Lake George Monroe Pier New Buffalo North Manitou Island Saginaw Bay Sand Beach North Entrance East Squaw Point St. Mary's River Lower Range Front Vidal Shoals Channel Range Front and Rear Lights Windmill Point Range Front and Rear Lights
Related	Lightship Huron List of lifesaving stations in Michigan Wixom Lake, Musselman Island lighthouse

• Lighthouses completed in 1936
• Houses completed in 1936
• Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
• Art Deco architecture in Michigan
• Buildings and structures in Emmet County, Michigan
• National Register of Historic Places in Emmet County, Michigan