Island East Channel Range Light
By Dave Wobser
The following article
originally appeared in Great Laker magazine.
One of the Great Lakes most
photogenic lighthouses has been in danger of collapse. But thanks to a
small, but dedicated group of local volunteers the Grand Island East Channel
Light has been saved for future generations to see.
First lighted in August, 1868, the light only served until 1908 when the new
Munising East Channel Range Lights were put into operation. It was
deactivated five years later. For the next 90 years, the structure was left
to the elements which have changed the formerly white landmark into a
driftwood-colored structure that is a magnet for the cameras of tourists
passing by on the local tour boats.
Douglass Houghton had issued his mineral survey report of Lake Superior in
1841, and the Treaty of LaPointe with the Chippewa Nation opened the area to
exploration. In 1844, iron and copper were discovered in the Upper
Peninsula, and in 1845 the first iron mine was opened in Nauganee and the
first copper mining started in the Keweenaw Peninsula. These discoveries
created a demand for vessels to carry the goods to the America’s population
located around the lower lakes and on the East Coast.
The first schooner on Lake Superior was the Algonquin which had been
portaged around the Soo rapids in 1839. The new demands of iron and copper
mining created a demand for vessels on Lake Superior. A few vessels were
portaged around the Soo, and a few were built above the Soo.
The demand for vessels was followed by the need for aids to navigation. The
first two lighthouses on Lake Superior were built in 1849 at Whitefish Point
and Copper Harbor. These were soon followed by lights to mark other port
facilities at Eagle Harbor (1851), Ontonagon (1852), Marquette (1853) and
Eagle River (1854).
The opening of the first Soo Locks in 1855 permitted a great increase in the
number of vessels on Lake Superior and generated a number of requests for
more coastal navigation lights. One of the first was Grand Island North
Light which is more than 70 miles west of Whitefish Point.
Munising Bay, with Grand Island sitting in the middle of the bay, is a
natural shelter from the storms that frequent the largest of the Great
Lakes. However, vessels seeking refuge were often caught by shoals in the
narrow passage on the east side of the island between Sand Point, on the
mainland, and the point eventually chosen as the site for the Grand Island
East Channel Light.
In two different appropriations Congress approved $16,000 for a light to
mark the location and guide the sailing vessels of the day to a place of
safety. The style chosen was the “schoolhouse” lighthouse typical of the
day. Similar lights were constructed on the north end of Grand Island,
Granite Island, Gull Rock, Ontonagon and Copper Harbor.
The structure consists of a forty-five foot square tower attached to a 1-1/2
story dwelling, on a 44 acre site. A low-ceiling, rubble stone basement
supports the building. The kitchen was a shed-roof room attached to the rear
of the main building. The oil-fired original lantern was replaced with a
fixed Fifth Order Fresnel lens in 1869 and gave the light a visibility of 13
The East Channel light differs from the others in two significant ways. It
was constructed of local timber, as opposed to brick used in the other
lights, and sits on a sandy peninsula beach. Both differences have
contributed to the lighthouse’s deterioration over the years. Beach erosion
was a constant problem for the lighthouse engineers. Over the years,
cribbing was installed on several occasions to protect the lighthouse from
being undermined by the action of the waves. Steps that once lead up to the
front door have vanished long ago and the water is near the foundation.
By 1904, the number of and size vessels using the harbor had increased to
the point that a set of range lights were determined to be more appropriate.
The constant maintenance of the existing light contributed to the decision,
and the Munising Range Lights were put in operation 1908 and the picturesque
Grand Island East Channel Light was deactivated and abandoned in 1913.
The light station was declared excess in 1915, and sold to a group of 20
persons who divided the property into individual parcels. Each of the
parcels has a narrow beach front and includes a share of the lighthouse
building. A number of summer cottages and hunting camps were built on the
individual parcels, but the lighthouse was left to the elements. The wooden
structure took on the look of driftwood and the beach cribs eroded away to
the point that Lake Superior was lapping at the foundation. At one point,
Lighthouse Digest magazine designated the East Channel Light as the “Most
By 1999, the structure was in danger of being lost and a group of local
citizens formed the Grand Island East Channel Light Rescue Project in an
attempt to save the historic structure. The committee is working in
cooperation with the property owners, the Alger County Historical Society
and the U. S. National Forest Service who administers the Grand Island
National Recreation Area.
Working with a minimum of funding, the group has been able to install a
protective crib of cedar posts in front of the light to keep the wave action
away from the foundation. Rocks have been placed in the crib and the sand
beach is slowly rebuilding itself around the light.
Inside the tower the volunteers discovered that one of the four large corner
timbers that support the lantern was cracked. Jacks were used to raise the
tower back into position and the timber received a ‘splint’ to hold
everything in place.
Little has been done to the building interior which has suffered the ravages
of time and vandals. Very little of the original lath and plaster remains on
the walls. The wooden floors have some open spaces. Some wall studding has
been replaced to maintain the structural integrity of the building and to
seal the window openings from the weather. Only a portion of the kitchen
The roof has been replaced with replica shingles and some siding has been
replaced. Replica wood brackets were made to replace the originals that
support the gallery around the lantern.
All the work has been with the goal of having the building stabilized for
the future. Because the land is privately owned, there is no intention to
open the lighthouse for tours or close-up visits. But, the outward
appearance has been maintained as the weathered structure that is a favorite
with photographers. This will please the many tourists who pass the light on
the tour boats of the Pictured Rocks Cruises or the Lake Superior Shipwreck
Work continues on the project, and you can be part of stabilization effort.
Tax-free donations may be made to the East Channel Lighthouse Rescue
Project, c/o Alger County Historical Society, PO Box 201, Munising, MI
49862, or you can volunteer to help on site by calling project coordinator
Chris Case at 906-387-5149.
Click on image to
1994 Photograph by John Meyland
2006 pictures by Dave Wobser
||Grand Island, Michigan