Martin Reef Light Station

Martin Reef Light Station
Location	N Lake Huron, 4.3 miles (6.9 km) S of Cadogan Point
Coordinates	45°54′48″N 84°8′54″W / 45.91333°N 84.14833°W
Tower
Foundation	crib
Construction	reinforced concrete & steel
Height	52 feet (16 m)
Shape	square
Markings	white with red roof
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place
Light
First lit	1927
Focal height	65 feet (20 m)
Lens	fourth order Fresnel lens (original), 7.9-inch (200 mm) acrylic lens (current)
Range	13 nautical miles (24 km; 15 mi)
Characteristic	FI R 10s
	Martin Reef Light Station
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nearest city	Clark Township, Michigan
Area	less than one acre
Architect	US Lighthouse Service
MPS	Light Stations of the United States MPS
NRHP reference No.	05000743
Added to NRHP	July 27, 2005

The Martin Reef Light Station is a lighthouse located in northern Lake Huron, 4.3 miles (6.9 km) south of Cadogan Point in Clark Township, Michigan.^[6] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.^[5]

History

At the end of the 19th century, the availability of iron ore from the Upper Peninsula caused shipping traffic through the Great Lakes to increase tremendously.^[4] Martin Reef, only a few inches deep in its shallowest area, was a significant hazard for ships approaching the Straits of Mackinac. In 1896, the Lighthouse Board asked for funds to be allocated to construct a lightship to station at the reef. However, despite repeated requests, it was not until 1906 that Congress approved the request.^[4] Plans were drawn up to construct a lightship designated LV89. In 1907, the Racine-Truscott-Shell Boat building Company of Muskegon, Michigan was awarded a contract to build the steel-hulled vessel. The vessel was completed in 1908, but was not stationed on the reef until the beginning of the 1909 shipping season.^[4]

However, over the next few decades, ships in the Great Lakes became larger and larger, and extended the shipping season past the times that LC89 was able to stay on station due to winter ice.^[4] In the 1920s, the Lighthouse Service began designing a permanent structure to replace the lightship on Martin Reef, and soon funds were allocated for construction. Work was started in the summer of 1927,^[7] and once the pier structure was complete, a temporary light was rigged and LV89 was removed and stationed at North Manitou Shoal in Lake Michigan. The entire project was completed in the summer of 1927.^[4]

In 1939, the Coast Guard assumed responsibility for the nation's lighthouses.^[4] They installed electric generators at Martin Reef to power the light. At some point, the station was automated, and the original Fresnel lens was removed and replaced with a 7.9-inch (200 mm) acrylic optic. The original lens is on display at the museum at the Point Iroquois Light. In 2000, the ownership of the light station was turned over to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.^[4] In January 2020, the ownership of the light station was turned over to the Martin Reef Light Historical Preservation Society Inc.

Description

The Martin Reef Lighthouse sits on a 65 feet (20 m) square concrete-filled crib, placed in 10 feet (3.0 m) at the southeast edge of the reef.^[4] The crib is the base for a pier containing cellar storage areas for coal and water.^[4] Additional concrete forms an external "wave flare" around the pier, and the resulting pier structure is approximately 25 feet (7.6 m) high from its base.^[7] The lighthouse itself is a 25 feet (7.6 m) square, white, three-story structure made of a skeletal steel frame covered with reinforced concrete and iron^[4] and sheathed with steel.^[7] The lighthouse is centered on the crib. The first floor of the lighthouse was designed as an engine room, the second floor as an office, kitchen, and living area, while the third floor contained sleeping rooms.^[4]

A 16 feet (4.9 m) square, 10 feet (3.0 m) watchroom sits on the top of the lighthouse, topped with an octagonal cast iron lantern^[4] with a red roof.^[7] The lantern originally contained a flashing white fourth order Fresnel lens manufactured by Sautter & Cie of Paris. It currently contains a 200 mm acrylic lens. The lighthouse also contained compressed air diaphone fog signal.^[4] The Poe Reef Light, built in 1929, is a duplicate of this lighthouse.^[8]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Historic Light Station Information & Photography: Michigan". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Inventory of Historic Light Stations Michigan Lighthouses: Martin Reef". National Park Service. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
^ ^a ^b Light List: Volume VII: Great Lakes (PDF), United States Coast Guard, 2012, p. 117
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o "Martin Reef Lighthouse". Seeing The Light. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ "Martin Reef (Lake Huron) Light: ARLHS USA-480". Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Martin Reef, Les Cheneaux Islands, MI". Midwest Connection, l.l.c. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
^ Dave Wobser; Colt Edin. "Martin Reef Light". BoatNerd.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2012.

[uscg-1] "Historic Light Station Information & Photography: Michigan". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Retrieved June 9, 2012.

[nps-2] "Inventory of Historic Light Stations Michigan Lighthouses: Martin Reef". National Park Service. Retrieved June 10, 2012.

[ll-3] Light List: Volume VII: Great Lakes (PDF), United States Coast Guard, 2012, p. 117

[pepper-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o "Martin Reef Lighthouse". Seeing The Light. Retrieved June 9, 2012.

[nris-5] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.

[ARLHS-6] "Martin Reef (Lake Huron) Light: ARLHS USA-480". Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society. Retrieved June 9, 2012.

[mwc-7] "Martin Reef, Les Cheneaux Islands, MI". Midwest Connection, l.l.c. Retrieved June 10, 2012.

[bn-8] Dave Wobser; Colt Edin. "Martin Reef Light". BoatNerd.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2012.

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v t e Lighthouses in Michigan
Main: List of lighthouses in the United States
Northern Upper Peninsula	Au Sable Big Bay Point Copper Harbor Copper Harbor Front Range Crisp Point Eagle Harbor Eagle Harbor Range Lights Eagle River Fourteen Mile Point Grand Island East Channel Grand Island Harbor Rear Range Grand Island North Grand Marais Range Lights Granite Island Gull Rock Huron Island Isle Royale Manitou Island Marquette Breakwater Outer Marquette Harbor Mendota (Bete Grise) Munising Front Range Munising Rear Range Ontonagon Ontonagon Harbor West Breakwater Portage River (Jacobsville) Passage Island Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light Rock Harbor Rock of Ages Sand Hills Sand Point Light (Baraga) St. Martin Island Stannard Rock Thunder Bay Island Whitefish Point
Southern Upper Peninsula	DeTour Reef Lansing Shoals Manistique East Breakwater Martin Reef Menominee Pier Minneapolis Shoal Naubinway Island Peninsula Point Poverty Island Sand Point Seul Choix Squaw Island St. Martin Island
St. Mary's River	Frying Pan Island Pipe Island Point Iroquois Round Island Light (St. Mary's River) Six Mile Point Range Rear Winter Point Range Front
Portage River/Ship Canal	Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Keweenaw Waterway Upper Entrance Portage Lake Rouleau Point Range Front and Rear Lights
Straits of Mackinac	Bois Blanc McGulpin Point Old Mackinac Point Round Island Round Island Passage St. Helena Island Wawatam
Western Lower Peninsula	Beaver Island Harbor Beaver Island Head Big Sable Point Cedar River Charlevoix Charlevoix South Pier Frankfort Frankfort South Range Grand Haven North Pierhead Grand Haven South Pierhead Entrance Grand Haven South Pierhead Inner Grand Traverse Grays Reef Holland Harbor Ile Aux Galets Little Sable Point Little Traverse Ludington Manistee Pierhead Manning Memorial Mission Point Mission Point (1933) Muskegon Breakwater Muskegon Pier North Manitou Shoal Pentwater North Pierhead Pentwater South Pierhead Point Betsie Portage Lake South Fox Island South Haven South Manitou Island St. Joseph North Pier Inner St. Joseph North Pier Outer Waugoshance White River White Shoal
Eastern Lower Peninsula	Alpena Caseville Harbor Charity Island Cheboygan Crib Cheboygan River Front Range Detroit River Fort Gratiot Forty Mile Point Fourteen Foot Shoal Gibraltar Gravelly Shoal Harbor Beach Lake St. Clair Mariners Memorial Middle Island Miller Memorial New Presque Isle Old Presque Isle Peche Island Rear Range Poe Reef Pointe aux Barques Port Austin Port Sanilac Saginaw Bay Saginaw River Rear Range Spectacle Reef St. Clair Flats Front and Rear Range Light Sturgeon Point Tawas Point Thunder Bay Island Tri-Centennial Light of Detroit William Livingstone Memorial Windmill Point
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

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