Presque Isle Lighthouse

Two Lake Huron lighthouse towers tracing Presque Isle’s maritime and coastal history.

About Presque Isle Lighthouse

Presque Isle Lighthouse occupies a low, wooded rise on the Lake Huron shore at Presque Isle, Michigan, east of Grand Lake and north of Alpena. The light station, centered on a tall brick tower connected to a keeper’s dwelling, served successive phases of 19th-century navigation: first as a modest harbor light, then as a larger coastal beacon responding to shifting shoreline and increasing vessel traffic. Its seasonal presence, quiet in winter, open for climbing and interpretation in the warmer months, frames both the locality and the lake’s broader maritime corridors. The Presque Isle Lighthouse complex also includes an earlier, smaller tower from 1840 and an associated keeper’s house, reflecting layered patterns of adaptation over time. Together, the buildings articulate the relationship between community, commerce, and coast that shaped this point on Lake Huron’s edge.

History

The initial lighthouse at Presque Isle was constructed in 1840 under congressional appropriation to guide vessels into Presque Isle Harbor and along the Lake Huron coast. Built of stone and brick on the northeast side of the harbor entrance, this structure stood roughly 30 feet tall with walls that tapered toward the lantern room above. It served as both a harbor light and a coastal aid, though its modest height limited visibility seaward as maritime traffic grew. By the late 1860s, the original tower and dwelling had deteriorated and proved insufficient to accommodate the distance required by expanding commerce.

In March 1869, Congress appropriated funds for range lights to mark the channel, followed by a larger appropriation in July 1870 for a new coastal lighthouse. Materials and a work crew were delivered in the summer of 1870, and construction proceeded rapidly. A double-walled brick tower rising 113 feet was erected atop a limestone foundation, linked by a covered passageway to a two-story keeper’s dwelling. The new lighthouse was placed into operation for the 1871 navigation season. The Garrity family, long associated with the station, oversaw the light’s daily functions: Patrick Garrity served as first keeper with assistance from sons and later daughter in various capacities. The powerful third-order Fresnel lens installed in the lantern could be seen many miles across open water, providing an essential cue for mariners rounding Presque Isle Point and entering safe water. Over the ensuing decades, the light continued its role as an aid to navigation. Like many Great Lakes stations, it underwent technological updates as oil lamps gave way to electrification and automated beacons.

By 1970, traditional manned lighthouse operations had ceased, and modern lighting systems assumed the guiding function. The original Fresnel lens was replaced with an aircraft beacon, though interpretive stewardship preserved key historic elements. Stewardship of the Presque Isle Lighthouse complex shifted to local authorities and historical organizations in the late 20th century, with both the older 1840 tower and the 1870 structure maintained as museum sites. The 1905 keeper’s house adjacent to the newer tower also serves as a repository of regional maritime history, and seasonal access allows visitors to climb the tall tower and view the lake from its gallery.

📚 Sources & Citations 1 ▾

“Presque Isle (New), MI.” Lighthouse Friends, ↗

Photos

Old Presque Isle Lighthouse

Presque Isle Harbor is one of Lake Huron’s safest natural harbors of refuge, its name derived from the peninsula that forms it—presque île in French, meaning “almost an island.” Native Americans and early French voyageurs portaged across the narrow strip of land to avoid several miles of exposed open water. As maritime traffic increased, Congress appropriated $5,000 in 1838 for a lighthouse, which Jeremiah Moors of Detroit completed in 1840; today, it stands as one of the oldest surviving lighthouses on the Great Lakes. The last keeper, Patrick Garrity, was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln, and four of his children, raised in the keeper’s dwelling, later became lighthouse keepers themselves.

Presque Isle Light Station

In 1871, the New Presque Isle Light was placed into service and remains active today, now automated and electrically illuminated. Its 113-foot brick tower is the tallest lighthouse structure on the Great Lakes. The lantern still houses the original Third Order Fresnel lens, which has a range of more than 10 miles. The keeper’s family resided in an attached two-story dwelling, now operated as a museum. Front and rear range lights, constructed in 1870, once marked the harbor channel for approaching vessels.

Presque Isle Front Range Light

In 1869, the U.S. Congress appropriated $7,500 to construct two range lights marking the channel into Presque Isle Harbor. Orlando M. Poe submitted the plans in May 1870, and by August the lights were in operation, allowing mariners to align them for safe entry into the harbor. In 1967, the front range light was replaced by a light mounted on a pole, and the original structure was relocated near the Old Presque Isle Lighthouse. The township acquired the building in 1995 using state funds and private donations, and in 2002 it was moved closer to its original site.