Sturgeon Point Lighthouse

Sturgeon Point Lighthouse stands along the Lake Huron shoreline in Haynes Township, Alcona County, Michigan, just north of Harrisville. Situated where a shallow reef projects more than a mile into open water, the station marked a persistent hazard to 19th-century mariners crossing the lake’s northeastern lower peninsula. The masonry tower, with its white and red daymark, occupies the boundary between seasonal visitation and ongoing maritime significance. While modern navigation aids have largely supplanted the light’s primary function, its presence continues to define this reach of Lake Huron.

The keeper’s house and ancillary structures now interpret daily life at the station and serve as a maritime museum during the warmer months. Together with Sturgeon Point State Park, the site provides context for an arc of vessel traffic, reef-induced risk, and community stewardship that shaped this stretch of shoreline from the late 19th century into the present.

History

Concerns over a reef extending far into Lake Huron prompted the United States Lighthouse Board to seek Congressional funds and site acquisition for a light station at Sturgeon Point. An appropriation of approximately $15,000 was granted in 1867 to establish a beacon halfway between other critical lights on the lake. Title to a roughly 60-acre parcel was secured in 1868, and construction began the following spring. By late 1869, the limestone foundation, brick tower, and attached keeper’s dwelling were substantially complete. The lantern, sourced from Paris and previously installed at an eastern station, was hoisted into place, and a kerosene-fed apparatus was lit in the spring of 1870.

Perley Silverthorn, the station’s first keeper, oversaw the emerging aid to navigation from 1870 until his resignation in 1876. A United States Life-Saving Service station was established adjacent to the lighthouse that same year, staffed and equipped to assist mariners in distress along this often treacherous reach of the Great Lakes. Through the turn of the century, keepers such as Louis Cardy, Sr., maintained the light and participated in life-saving activities as vessel traffic and regional commerce grew.

Advances in illumination technology led to the automation of the Sturgeon Point light in 1913, shifting primary responsibility from resident keepers to mechanical systems and nearby lifesaving crews. With the formation of the United States Coast Guard in 1915 and its eventual assumption of responsibility for navigational aids in the 1930s, the station saw further modernization. Electricity was introduced, and full automation achieved in 1939, and by 1941, staffing was withdrawn entirely as the Coast Guard consolidated operations and decommissioned ancillary buildings.

Following decades of decline and occasional vandalism, stewardship of the keeper’s house and lighthouse shifted in 1982 when the Alcona Historical Society secured a lease and undertook a multi-year restoration project. The keeper’s quarters were returned to a period appearance, and interpretive displays were established. The station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, underscoring its significance in the network of Great Lakes aids to navigation. Although the original Fresnel lens no longer serves its historic function, the lighthouse and museum are open seasonally to provide insight into its operational history and regional maritime heritage.

Sources

1. “Life Saving Station.” Alcona Historical Society.
2. Pepper, Terry. “Sturgeon Point Lighthouse.” Seeing The Light, 2 Dec. 2007.

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