# Big Sable Point Light

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{{short description|Lighthouse in Michigan, United States}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox lighthouse
  | image = Big Sable Point Lighthouse (August 2023).jpg
  | image_size = 275
  | location = [Ludington State Park](/source/Ludington_State_Park)<br>[Hamlin Township, Michigan](/source/Hamlin_Township%2C_Mason_County%2C_Michigan)
  | coordinates = {{coord|44|03|28|N|86|30|52|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
  | yearbuilt = 1867
  | yearlit = 1867
  | automated = 1968
  | foundation = Wood pilings<ref>[http://www.michiganlighthouse.org/LH_list/big_sable.htm Michigan Lighthouse Fund, Big Sable Point Lighthouse.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106105521/http://www.michiganlighthouse.org/LH_list/big_sable.htm |date=2009-01-06 }}</ref>
  | construction = originally [Cream City brick](/source/Cream_City_brick), later encased in [cast iron](/source/cast_iron) plate<ref name="Price"/>
  | shape = [Frustum](/source/Frustum) of a [Cone](/source/Cone_(geometry))<ref name="Price"/>
  | marking = White and black tower/Black parapet & Lantern
  | height = {{convert|112|ft}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/lists/towers.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000918211817/http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/lists/towers.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2000-09-18 |author=Pepper, Terry |work=Seeing the Light |title=Database of Tower Heights |publisher=terrypepper.com }}</ref><ref>[http://www.michiganlights.com/bigsablepointlh.htm ''But see'', Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Big Sable Point Light which claims the tower is {{convert|112|ft}}.]</ref><ref name="conservancy"/>
  | focalheight = {{convert|106|ft}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/lists/focalheight.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080830100452/http://www.terrypepper.com/Lights/lists/focalheight.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-08-30 |author=Pepper, Terry |work=Seeing the Light |title=Database of Focal Heights |publisher=terrypepper.com }}</ref>
  | lens = Third order [Fresnel lens](/source/Fresnel_lens) (original), {{convert|300|mm|order=flip|adj=on}} ML-300 [Tideland Signal](/source/Tideland_Signal) acrylic optic<ref>[http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/closeups/illumination/acrylic/300mm/300mm.htm Tideland Signal acrylic optic, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.]</ref> (current)
  | range = {{convert|15|nmi}}
  | characteristic = White, fixed light. Obscured from 238° to 346°.<ref>{{cite uscgll|7||}}</ref>
  |module={{Infobox NRHP
   | embed                          = yes
   | name                           = Big Sable Point Light Station
   | location                       = Big Sable Point, [Ludington, Michigan](/source/Ludington%2C_Michigan)
   | architect                      = Col. [Orlando M. Poe](/source/Orlando_M._Poe)
   | added                          = August 04, 1983
   | area                           = {{convert|2|acre}}
   | mpsub                          = {{NRHP url|id=64000182|title=U.S. Coast Guard Lighthouses and Light Stations on the Great Lakes TR}}
   | refnum                         = 83004296<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref>
   | designated_other1              = Michigan State Historic Site
   | designated_other1_date         = May 19, 1988<ref name=MCGI>{{cite web|last=State of Michigan |url=http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hso/sites/10015.htm |year=2009 |title=Big Sable Point Light Station |access-date=June 26, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511125734/http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hso/sites/10015.htm |archive-date=May 11, 2012 }}</ref>
   | designated_other1_num_position = bottom
  }}
}}

'''Big Sable Point Light''' is a [lighthouse](/source/lighthouse) on the eastern shore of [Lake Michigan](/source/Lake_Michigan) in the U.S. state of [Michigan](/source/Michigan).  It is located within [Ludington State Park](/source/Ludington_State_Park) just north of the city of [Ludington](/source/Ludington%2C_Michigan).<ref>[http://www.ludingtoninfo.com/statepark/index.php Ludington State Park.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303171250/http://www.ludingtoninfo.com/statepark/index.php |date=March 3, 2016 }}</ref>  First constructed in 1867, it continues to be an active [navigational aid](/source/navigational_aid).<ref name="conservancy">[http://www.michiganlights.com/bigsablepointlh.htm Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Big Sable Point Light.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522150923/http://www.michiganlights.com/bigsablepointlh.htm |date=May 22, 2016 }}</ref>

==History==
thumb|left|150px|Alexander A. L. "Alonzo" Hyde served as the first lighthouse keeper from 1867 to 1871.
thumb|left|250px|Dual-sided Michigan state historic marker
On July 28, 1866, Congress appropriated $35,000 for a new lighthouse at Big Sable Point.  Approximately {{convert|933|acre}} was deeded from the State of Michigan to the U.S. at no cost and in early 1867 construction began,<ref>Thomas A. Tag (1997) ''Big Sable Point Light Station'', p.6. {{ISBN|0-9649980-3-3}}</ref> making it the first light station in the area.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120728000537/http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080520/SPECIAL01/80519001 Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses.] [Detroit News](/source/Detroit_News).</ref>

Built in 1867, the {{convert|112|ft|adj=on}} tower was originally made of yellow cream brick. It has a focal plane of {{convert|106|ft}}.  The building was made of so-called [Cream City Brick](/source/Cream_City_Brick).<ref name="Pepper">[http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/closeups/cream_city_brick/cream_city_brick.htm Cream City Brick, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061018152325/http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/closeups/cream_city_brick/cream_city_brick.htm |date=October 18, 2006 }}</ref>  The brick deteriorated and was thereafter covered with [boiler plate](/source/Sheet_steel) in 1900.<ref name="official"/>

Construction materials were brought up by ships.  The first road to the site was not completed until 1933.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080616092734/http://www.lighthousecentral.com/lighthouse_gallery.php4?lighthouse=Big+Sable+Point+Lighthouses Lighthouse Central,  Photographs, History, Directions and Way points for Big Sable Point Light, ''The Ultimate Guide to West Michigan Lighthouses'' by Jerry Roach (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - 2005).] {{ISBN|0-9747977-0-7}}.</ref>

Because the brick deteriorated from exposure to the elements, a steel plate encasement was installed in 1900 at a cost of $3,225.<ref>Thomas A. Tag (1997) ''Big Sable Point Light Station'', p.23. {{ISBN|0-9649980-3-3}}</ref>  The yellow brick now encased in steel plate was difficult to see and a [daymark](/source/daymark) was needed.  Several changes to the daymark over the years were made.  Currently, the tower is painted white with a black watch tower and a black band around the middle of the tower.<ref>Hyde, Charles K., ''The Northern Lights'' (Wayne State University Press, 1987) pp. 118, 121.</ref>  Despite the artist who colorized this historic post card coloring the middle third of the lighthouse red there is no evidence it has ever been any color other than black.<ref>[http://www.michiganlights.com/bigsablepointlh.htm historic post card] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522150923/http://www.michiganlights.com/bigsablepointlh.htm |date=May 22, 2016 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.leuchtturm-welt.net/HTML/USAPK/ORIGINAL/P_SABLE.JPG black and white] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304031505/http://www.leuchtturm-welt.net/HTML/USAPK/ORIGINAL/P_SABLE.JPG |date=March 4, 2016 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.leuchtturm-welt.net/HTML/USAPK/ORIGINAL/P_SABLE.JPG Huelse, Klaus. Historic postcard images of U.S. lighthouses, Historic Post Card View — "Point Sable Lighthouse".] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304031505/http://www.leuchtturm-welt.net/HTML/USAPK/ORIGINAL/P_SABLE.JPG |date=March 4, 2016 }}</ref>

It was the last Great Lakes Lighthouse to get electricity and plumbing, which came in the late 1940s.<ref name="Harrison">[http://www.lighthousedepot.com/lite_digest.asp?action=get_article&sk=176 Harrison, Timothy. ''Big Sable, The Queen of the Lake''.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614085959/http://www.lighthousedepot.com/lite_digest.asp?action=get_article&sk=176 |date=June 14, 2011 }} [Lighthouse Digest](/source/Lighthouse_Digest) (Jul 1997), pp. 1-3.</ref>

The original lens was a third order [Fresnel lens](/source/Fresnel_lens),<ref>''See'' [http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/closeups/illumination/fresnel/3order.htm Third Order Fresnel lens, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516102925/http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/closeups/illumination/fresnel/3order.htm |date=May 16, 2008 }}</ref> inscribed "Sautter & Co., Constructeurs." It was removed in 1985, and is now on display at the [Rose Hawley Museum](/source/Rose_Hawley_Museum)<ref>[http://www.lighthousefriends.com/bigsable_lens.jpg Photograph, Big Sable Point Light Third Order Fresnel Lens, Rose Hawley Museum] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604124157/http://www.lighthousefriends.com/bigsable_lens.jpg |date=June 4, 2011 }} at Lighthouse Friends.</ref> at White Pine Village.<ref>[http://lighthouse.boatnerd.com/gallery/Michigan/bigsablepoint.htm Wobser, David and Edin Colt, boatnerd.com, Big Sable Point Light.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907143345/http://lighthouse.boatnerd.com/gallery/Michigan/bigsablepoint.htm |date=September 7, 2008 }}</ref>  The lighthouse follows a design first used at [New Presque Isle Light](/source/New_Presque_Isle_Light), which was also used on several other lights on the [Great Lakes](/source/Great_Lakes).

After the light was automated, the [keeper's](/source/lighthouse_keeper) house was severely vandalized.<ref name="Harrison"/>

In 1986, the lighthouse station was leased to the Foundation for Behavioral Research. The foundation has worked with the Big Sable Lighthouse Association to preserve the buildings.

[Lighthouse keeper](/source/Lighthouse_keeper)s were: Alonzo Hyde Sr. (1867–1869), Alonzo W. Hyde (1869–1871), Newton Bird (1871–1873), Burr Caswell (1874–1882), Hans Hansen (1882–1887), James Rich (1887–1888), Tomas Bailey (1889–1893), George Blake (1899–1903), Samuel Gagnon (1905–1923), Joseph Kimmers (1922–1923), Leweilyn Vanatter (1923–1936), George Rogan (1936–1949), David Sauers (1949–1954), Henry Vavrina (1955–1965), Homer Meverden (1965–1968).<ref name="Price">{{cite uscghist|MI}}</ref>

In the middle of the 20th Century, 1949, Big Sable was electrified.  It was the last [Great Lakes](/source/Great_Lakes) light to give up wicks.  This paved the way for automation and the elimination of the [Lighthouse keeper](/source/Lighthouse_keeper)'s job.<ref name="Pepper"/>

The [fog horn](/source/fog_horn), which was steam and then diesel.<ref name="splka.org">[http://splka.org/ Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008020146/http://splka.org/ |date=October 8, 2016 }}</ref>

Buildings at the lightstation included the tower and dwelling, fog signal building, boat house, barn, three oil houses, two [privy's](/source/Outhouse) and a [Diaphone](/source/Diaphone) fog signal.<ref>Thomas A. Tag, Big Sable Point Light Station, Softcover (Dayton, OH: Data Image, 1997) p. 36</ref>  The fog signal building fell into the lake due to erosion in 1943.<ref name="UNC">{{cite rowlett|miwl}}</ref>

The site is the subject of constant erosion, so that keeping the foundation in place and the water away from undermining it has been a recurrent and expensive battle.<ref name="Harrison"/>

Listed as Big Sable Point Light Station in the [National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places) in 1983 as reference #83004296.  It is also on the state inventory list.

A historical marker in front of the lighthouse reads:

:''Called Grande Pointe au Sable by French explorers and traders, Big Sable Point was an important landmark for mariners traveling a treacherous stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline between Big Sable Point and present-day Ludington. In 1855 twelve ships wrecked in that area. Commerce linked to the burgeoning lumber industry required Big Sable Point be suitably lighted. State Senator Charles Mears pressed the legislature to ask the federal government for a light station at Big Sable. In 1866 the U.S. Congress appropriated $35,000 for a lighthouse, which was built the following year. As the lumbering era waned, steamers carrying coal foodstuffs and tourists continued to rely on the lighthouse for navigation.''

:''The Big Sable Point Lighthouse is one of the few Michigan lights with a tower reaching {{convert|100|ft|m}}. Completed in 1867 Big Sable's tower measured {{convert|112|ft|m}} high. In 1900 the deteriorating brick tower was encased in steel. The keeper's dwelling, which once housed a single family, has been enlarged over the years, resulting in the present three-family residence. Indoor plumbing and heating and a diesel electric generator were added in 1953. In 1953 power lines were extended to the Point. In 1966 the tradition of light-keeping begun in 1867 by Alonzo A. Hyde and his wife Laura ended when the station was fully automated. Big Sable Point Light Station is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.'' <ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120211094058/http://www.michmarkers.com/startup.asp?startpage=L1518.htm Michigan Historical Marker.]}} {{Cite web |url=http://www.michmarkers.com/startup.asp?startpage=L1518.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=March 12, 2006 |archive-date=February 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211094058/http://www.michmarkers.com/startup.asp?startpage=L1518.htm |url-status=bot: unknown }}<!--Assumed to be PD since it is the text of a public sign--></ref><ref name="friends">[http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=196 Lighthouse friends article, Big Sable Point.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060508002015/http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=196 |date=May 8, 2006 }}</ref>

==Current status and access==
{{Update|inaccurate=yes|date=August 2023|section}}
thumb|right|250px|Lighthouse complex view from the lake
The lighthouse was transferred to state ownership on November 1, 2002.<ref>[National Park Service](/source/National_Park_Service) [http://www.cr.nps.gov/maritime/light/bigsable.htm Maritime History Project, Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Big Sable Point Lighthouse.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523033630/http://www.cr.nps.gov/maritime/light/bigsable.htm |date=May 23, 2014 }}</ref>  The site manager is the [http://splka.org/ Sable Points Light Keepers Association.]<ref name="UNC"/>

Take state highway [M-116](/source/M-116_(Michigan_highway)) north from Ludington to Lakeshore Drive.  Proceed north for {{convert|6.5|mi|adj=on}}<ref name="friends"/> to Ludington State Park.  A vehicle permit is required and a fee collected.  It is under the care of the Sable Point Lightkeepers Association, which was formed in 1986.  The organization has been instrumental in restoring the light and associated buildings.<ref name="splka.org"/>  A volunteer keeper program makes is possible for volunteers to live and work in the lighthouse for two week periods.<ref>[http://www.lighthousedepot.com/lite_digest.asp?action=get_article&sk=1618 Merkel, Jim ''Volunteers Get Inside Look at Big Sable''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614090041/http://www.lighthousedepot.com/lite_digest.asp?action=get_article&sk=1618 |date=June 14, 2011 }} [Lighthouse Digest](/source/Lighthouse_Digest) (June, 2003).</ref>  There is a waiting list to do this.  Tours are available, and events do occur (a calendar is available).

Bus transportation is available June 24, July 13 & 29, August 12 & 26th and September 23, 2017.  Buses travel from the State Park Rangers House inside the State Park to the lighthouse is from 12pm to 5pm.  Round trip cost is $5.00 per adult rider and $2.00 for children 12 and under. Otherwise, access requires a {{convert|1.5|mi|adj=on}} walk up the beach or hiking trail.<ref name="official"/>

Big Sable Lighthouse is open daily May 8 through November 4, 2017 from 10am to 5pm. Cost to climb the tower is $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for children 12 and under. Gift shop and video room are open to all at no charge.<ref name="official">[http://www.bigsablelighthouse.org/ Big Sable Point Light official site.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080615131628/http://www.bigsablelighthouse.org/ |date=June 15, 2008 }}</ref>

==See also==
*[Lighthouses in the United States](/source/Lighthouses_in_the_United_States)

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |url=http://www.lighthousedepot.com/lite_digest.asp?action=get_article&sk=176 |last1=Harrison |first1=Timothy |title=Big Sable, The Queen of the Lake |journal=[Lighthouse Digest](/source/Lighthouse_Digest) |date=July 1997 |pages=1–3 |access-date=2009-11-02 |archive-date=2011-06-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614085959/http://www.lighthousedepot.com/lite_digest.asp?action=get_article&sk=176 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |last1=Havighurst|first1=Walter |year=1943 |title=The Long Ships Passing: The Story of the Great Lakes|publisher=[Macmillan Publishers](/source/Macmillan_Publishers)}}.
* {{cite journal |url=http://www.lighthousedepot.com/lite_digest.asp?action=get_article&sk=1618 |last1=Merkel |first1=Jim |title=Volunteers Get Inside Look at Big Sable |journal=[Lighthouse Digest](/source/Lighthouse_Digest) |date=June 2003 |access-date=2009-11-02 |archive-date=2011-06-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614090041/http://www.lighthousedepot.com/lite_digest.asp?action=get_article&sk=1618 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Nelson|first1=Bruce A |title=The History of Big Point Sable Light Station |journal=The Beacon |volume=18 |number=4 |date=Winter 2000–2001 |publisher=Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association|pages=14–15}}
* {{cite book |last1=Oleszewski |first1=Wes |title=Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses |location=Gwinn, Michigan |publisher=Avery Color Studios, Inc |year=1998 |isbn=0-932212-98-0}}
* {{cite book |last1=Rice|first1=Mary J. |title=Chicago: Port to the World |publisher=Follet Publishers |year=1969}}
* {{cite book |last1=Sapulski |first1=Wayne S|year=2001 |title=Lighthouses of Lake Michigan: Past and Present |type=Paperback |location=Fowlerville|publisher=Wilderness Adventure Books |isbn=0-923568-47-6}} {{ISBN|978-0-923568-47-4}}.
* {{cite book |last1=Tag |first1=Thomas A |title=Big Sable Point Light Station |type=Softcover |location=Dayton, OH |publisher=Data Image |year=1997 |isbn=0-9649980-3-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/bigsablepointlig00tagt }}

==External links==
* {{commons category-inline}}
* {{ARLHS link}}
* [http://www.visitludingtonstatepark.com/stories/big_sable_point_lighthouse_ludington_state_park_lake_michigan Big Sable Point Lighthouse in the Ludington State Park] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528121848/http://www.visitludingtonstatepark.com/stories/big_sable_point_lighthouse_ludington_state_park_lake_michigan |date=2013-05-28 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080615131628/http://www.bigsablelighthouse.org/ Big Sable Point Light official site.]
* [http://www.leuchtturm-welt.net/HTML/USAPK/ORIGINAL/P_SABLE.JPG Huelse, Klaus -- ''Meine Leuchtturm-Seite: Leuchttürme USA auf historischen Postkarten'' -- ''Historic postcard images of U.S. lighthouses, Historic Post Card View'' — "Point Sable Lighthouse".]
* [http://www.lighthousesrus.org/Maps/mapIt.htm?file=GL/MichiganNorth.xml Interactive map of Lights in Northern Lake Michigan, mapped by Google.]
* [http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/michigan/bigsable/bigsable.htm Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Big Sable Light.]
* [http://splka.org/ Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association.]
* [https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&rlz=1B3GGGL_en___US231&q=Big+Sable+Point+Google+maps&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=q8-dTL7ZL8X9ngfY-9CwDQ&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&ved=0CAwQ_AU Satellite image of 'Big Sable Point'] at [Google Maps](/source/Google_Maps).
* [http://www.us-lighthouses.com/displaypage.php?LightID=207 U.S. Lighthouses, Big Sable Point Light.]
* [http://www.uscg.mil/history/sarindex.asp U.S. Coast Guard Search & Rescue Index]
* [http://unitedstateslighthouses.com/explore-us-lighthouses/midwest-region/10-big-sable-point-light.html/ Big Sable Point Lighthouse - United States Lighthouses]

{{Lighthouses of Michigan}}
{{National Register of Historic Places listings in Mason County, Michigan}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Lighthouses completed in 1867
Category:Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
Category:Michigan State Historic Sites
Category:1867 establishments in Michigan
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Mason County, Michigan
Category:Transportation in Mason County, Michigan
Category:Lighthouses of Lake Michigan

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Big Sable Point Light](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Sable_Point_Light) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Sable_Point_Light?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.