Going “Up North” as often as we do, we don’t feel we have to panic when our timing isn’t right to see a particular thing at a particular time. We figure that leaves something new (to us) to see during a future visit.
And so, that was the case after our most recent visit to Mackinaw City.
We arrived at the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, located at the tip of Michigan’s mitt near downtown Mackinaw City, just as the light tower closed for the day. We didn’t get to tour the inside of the lighthouse, climb the tower or shop in the gift store that day, but we were able to take a few photos of the lighthouse and enjoy the great view of the Mackinac Bridge from the grounds.
This particular lighthouse always reminds me a bit of a castle, with its light-caramel colored brick and stately tower with relief detailing. An expansive lawn and spectacular view of the Straits of Mackinac adds to the feeling of stepping back in time to visit an elegant Victorian estate.
Fog signals began operating at the site in 1890, and the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse saw completion in 1892. The lighthouse illuminated the way for traffic through the Straits until 1957, when the then-new and brightly-lit Mackinac Bridge made the lighthouse unnecessary as a navigational aid.
Purchased by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission in 1960, the lighthouse served as a gallery from 1972 through 1990. Efforts to restore the light to its 1910-era appearance began in 2000, with the lighthouse reopening to the public in 2004.
The Straits was busy area during the 1670s when the French established a mission and a fort near St. Ignace in the Upper Peninsula. A newer fort built in 1714 on the southern side of the Straits in the Lower Peninsula, and near the current lighthouse site, played a key role in the area’s bustling fur trade before coming under British control after the French and Indian War. The Brits eventually moved the fort to Mackinac Island. The island remained a major fur trading center until the 1830s and became a major summer vacation area after the Civil War in the 1860s.
Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse takes its name from the fort’s southern Straits site.
The Mackinac Parks Web site, and my source for the historical information in this post, details the history of the light, its construction, its keepers, its closure and its eventual restoration as an attraction reopened to the public.
The lighthouse grounds existed as a park before the establishment of the lighthouse itself, so part of the keepers’ job always involved greeting park visitors and showing off the light station as long as it didn’t interfere with their work.
Fast-forward to the 1990s, when budget cutbacks forced the closing of the park and the lighthouse to the public. Concerns with deterioration of the brick lighthouse and tower put its future in question, but restoration and reopening of the lighthouse became a priority of the Mackinac State Historic Parks by the latter half of the 1990s. The restored lighthouse tower and keepers’ dwelling reopened to the public in 2004.
Today, touring the lighthouse offers visitors a look at life at the site circa 1910 with period furniture and costumed historical interpreters. Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse is open seven days a week from early May through early September. Check the Web site for the schedule of hours and days the lighthouse opens to visitors. Visitors can pay for admission to just the lighthouse or purchase a package that combines admission costs for several ticketed sites in the Straits area (see Web site for details).
Even though we didn’t get to tour the lighthouse during our last visit, it was the first time we could remember being able to roam the grounds and take photos.
Our visit gave us just enough of a taste for the lighthouse site to whet our appetites for a future visit when we can finally tour inside the lighthouse.
Check out my article Mighty Mac connects Michigan to learn more about the Mackinac Bridge and for an explanation of the spelling discrepancy between “Mackinaw” and Mackinac”
© Dominique King 2009
This is one of the Great lakes Lights that I want to spend some mre time at. We need to get there one of these days.
Posted by: Tim | June 16, 2009 at 11:48 AM
Tim-I always thought Mackinaw City was a bit touristy for my taste, but this looks like a really nice lighthouse.
When are we going? :)
Posted by: Dominique | June 16, 2009 at 08:41 PM
Great post as always.
I thought the same thing when I saw the picture: that it looked like a castle. Really beautiful.
Posted by: gypsyscarlett | June 17, 2009 at 03:41 AM
I haven't been to the Mackinac area since I had just one child. You're reminding me that it's time for a return trip.
Posted by: Linda | June 17, 2009 at 06:24 AM
Gypsy-The big lawn and great view really enhanced the "castle" feeling at this lighthouse. I've seen some photos online of the interior, pretty much preserved to how it may have looked in 1910 complete with a parlor and Victrola. I'm looking forward to getting back up that way sometime when we can go inside!
Linda-Mackinaw City itself is pretty touristy, but grabbing a pasty downtown to take out to eat for a picnic at Wilderness State Park after a visit to the lighthouse and stopping in at our one favorite store there makes for a nice day. We sometimes drive up from the Traverse area if we're staying there for a week...so it's still a bit of a trek.
Posted by: Dominique | June 19, 2009 at 08:12 AM