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St. Joseph North Pier Inner and Outer Lights

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St. Joseph North Pier Inner and Outer Lights
Map
LocationSt. Joseph, US
Coordinates42°07′N 86°29′W / 42.12°N 86.49°W / 42.12; -86.49
HeritageNational Register of Historic Places listed place Edit this on Wikidata
Light
First lit1906 Edit this on Wikidata
St. Joseph North Pier Inner Light Edit this at Wikidata
Constructed1907 Edit this on Wikidata
FoundationPier[1]
ConstructionSteel[1]
Height57 feet (17 m)[1]
ShapeOctagonal[2]
MarkingsRed/black/white
HeritageNational Register of Historic Places contributing property Edit this on Wikidata
First lit1907[1]
Focal height17 m (56 ft) Edit this on Wikidata
LensFourth order[1]
Range7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi)[2]
CharacteristicIso W 2s[2]
St. Joseph North Pier Outer Light Edit this at Wikidata
Constructed1906 Edit this on Wikidata
FoundationPier[1]
ConstructionCast iron[1]
Height35 feet (11 m)[1]
ShapeCylindrical[2]
MarkingsBlack/white
HeritageNational Register of Historic Places contributing property Edit this on Wikidata
First lit1906[1]
Focal height31 feet (9.4 m)[1]
LensFifth order Fresnel lens[1]
Range12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi)[2]
CharacteristicFl W 2.5s[2]
St. Joseph North Pier Inner and Outer Lights
NRHP reference No.05001211[3]
Added to NRHPNovember 9, 2005

The St. Joseph North Pier Inner and Outer Lights are lighthouses in St. Joseph, Michigan, US, at the entrance to the St. Joseph River on Lake Michigan. The station was built in 1832 with the current lights built in 1906 and 1907;[1][4] they were decommissioned in 2005.[5]

History

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St. Joseph was first platted in 1829, and the first lighthouse at the site, located on the shore, was built in 1832. Construction began on harbor piers in 1836, and by 1848 a beacon light had been established on the pier. The onshore lighthouse was replaced in 1859, and a new pierhead beacon was constructed on the south pier in 1870. In 1881, this beacon was transferred to the north pier. In 1897 a pole light was erected 400 feet shoreward to serve as a rear range light. In 1904, the pier was extended, and the range lights were moved lakeward. In 1906/07, the present set of range lights was constructed.[6]

The 1859 lighthouse remained in use until 1919 when a tower was erected on the south pier. It was demolished in 1955. In 2008, the north pier inner and outer range lights were deemed excess. Ownership of the lights was transferred to the city of St. Joseph in 2013. A committee was formed in 2014 which raised $2 million in private donations to fully restore the pier range lights.[6] The project to preserve the lighthouses was completed in 2016.[4][5]

The foghorn at the station was converted to electronic in 1970.[7]

Postage stamp

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On June 17, 1995, the United States Postal Service issued a stamp depicting the lights as part of its Great Lakes Lighthouses series.[8]

Description

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The front range tower is constructed of steel framing and covered with metal sheets. It is a conical tower that tapers from a diameter of eight feet, three inches at its base to seven feet, three inches at the top. It is topped by a nine-sided lantern room. The tower is equipped with a fifth-order Barbier and Benard lens that produced a fixed red light.[6] The entire structure is 30 feet tall.[9]

The rear tower is a square steel structure, 24 feet on a side, with a pyramidal roof.[6] On top of the roof is an octagonal tower, rising two stories above the main structure.[9] Atop the tower is a circular lantern room with helical bars, surrounded by a black iron parapet and walkway. The tower was originally equipped with a fourth-order lens manufactured by Chance Brothers that produced a fixed red light.[6] This lens was replaced at some point with a Fourth Order Fresnel lens manufactured by Sautter & Cie.[10] A catwalk extends from the second story of the lighthouse along the pier to the shoreline.[9] A smokestack was removed from the tower in 1949 and another was added in 2016.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy. "St. Joseph Old Main Lighthouse". Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2016. p. 179.
  3. ^ National Park Service. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  4. ^ a b Heibutzki, Ralph (June 5, 2016). "Project Complete, 'Smokestack and All'". The Herald-Palladium. St. Joseph, MI. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Michigan State Housing Development Authority (March 15, 2016). "City and Citizens of St. Joseph Recognized for Saving St. Joseph Pier Lights" (Press release). Michigan State Housing Development Authority.
  6. ^ a b c d e "St. Joseph Pier Lighthouse". Lighthouse Friends. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  7. ^ "WNDU Vault: The Old St. Joseph Foghorn" on YouTube (channel WNDU 16 News Now, December 30, 2023 [1985])
  8. ^ National Postal Museum. "Great Lakes Lighthouses Issue: 32c St. Joseph Single". National Postal Museum.
  9. ^ a b c "St. Joseph North Pier Lights". Lighthouses of Michigan. Archived from the original on January 29, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  10. ^ Terry Pepper. "St. Joseph Pier Lights". Seeing The Light. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  11. ^ Matuszak, John (April 11, 2016). "Some Steamed over SJ Lighthouse Smokestack". The Herald-Palladium. St. Joseph, MI. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
[edit]
  • Postcard, c. 1940
    Postcard, c. 1940
  • Winter, 2004
    Winter, 2004
  • Summer, 2004
    Summer, 2004
  • Winter, 2010
    Winter, 2010
  • Pier, 2008
    Pier, 2008
  • Pier, 2008
    Pier, 2008
  • Aerial view
    Aerial view

Further reading

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  • Penrod, John (1998). Lighthouses of Michigan. Berrien Center, MI: Penrod Hiawatha. ISBN 978-0-942618-78-5.
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