 |
 |
 |
| Click on thumbnails to view enlarged versions | ||
| Port Sanilac Lighthouse | Seeing The Light |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Click on thumbnails to view enlarged versions | ||
|
Historical Information
While the establishment of the Sand Beach Harbor of Refuge Light in 1875 reduced the length of unlighted coastline by approximately sixteen miles, 30 miles of dangerous coastline remained unlighted, and the Board continued to push for the funds on an annual basis. Congress finally responded to the Board's seemingly incessant pleas in 1885. However, they were evidently wary of the requested costs, as the amount of the appropriation was arbitrarily reduced to $20,000, a mere half the amount requested. Selecting Port Sanilac as the optimal location for the new station, a site selected on high ground at the head of the small bay. With steps underway for obtaining title to the chosen site, Eleventh District Engineer Captain Charles E. L. B. Davis set about creating plans and specifications for construction of the new station. Amazingly, Davis' plans called not only for a station which could be built within the tight limitations of the budget, but also managed to create a design that was both unique and architecturally significant in its elegance. Contracts specifying a completion date of October 15, 1886 were awarded for materials and construction, and the iron work for the lantern and stairs delivered at the Detroit lighthouse depot on October 1, 1885. The construction crew arrived at Port Sanilac on June 7, 1886, and with only four and a half months remaining to complete the project, work at the site began at a feverish pace. By the end of June, it was reported tat the cellar had been excavated, the dwelling walls were almost half raised, the timber and stone foundation for the tower installed, and all construction materials had been delivered to the site.
Richard W Morris, was promoted to the position of Acting Keeper of the new Light after serving four years as the Second Assistant at the Thunder Bay Island Light, and moved into the new dwelling on October 6. The construction crew completed their work on October 13, and Morris climbed the tower to exhibit the light for the first time on the evening of October 20, 1886. Without no fog signal, brand new quarters and situated in close proximity to the growing town, Port Sanilac likely seemed an "Sweetheart" assignment to Morris after the rigors of life on Thunder Bay Island, and doubtless Morris and his family quickly settled into a comfortable routine. To better differentiate the light from the lights of the town behind the tower, the characteristic of the light was changed to fixed red on July 15 1889 through the installation of a ruby-colored glass chimney over the lamp. Keeper Morris resigned from lighthouse service on May 1, 1893, and was replaced by William H Holmes, another Thunder Bay Island alumnus, who was promoted to the position after serving almost six years as First Assistant at the island station.
William Holmes passed away in 1926, and was succeeded by his wife Grace. However, Grace would only tend the light for two years, as electrification had rendered the services of a full-time keeper unnecessary, and the position of Keeper of the Port Sanilac Light was abolished for ever in 1928. At some time thereafter, the station
buildings passed into private ownership, while the Coast Guard maintains
access to the tower and lantern, which continues to house the original
1886 Forth Order lens. Port Sanilac is a beautiful little village, tight on the coast of Lake Huron, and features a number of quaint, older buildings, likely contemporary to the lighthouse. We walked out on the breakwater to the point at which the trucks were
unloading their stone, and could go no further. We then walked into the
marina and took a couple of photographs from the docks. Unfortunately,
the Port Sanilac museum, which is located in a large house south of town
on M25, was closed until summer. Thus, unable to add to our limited
knowledge of the history of the lighthouse, we have a good excuse to
return again! |
With
pressure from maritime interests, the Lighthouse Board first broached
the need for a Coast Light along this stretch in its 1868 annual report
to Congress, requesting an appropriation of $30,000 to cover the cost of
establishing the station at an as yet undetermined location. While the
Board reiterated the request in each of its four subsequent annual
reports, Congress appears to have been unconvinced of the need for the
station, as no appropriation was forthcoming. However, convinced of the
need for the Light, the Board continued to push for funding, even
increasing the amount of the requested appropriation to $40,000 in its
1873 annual report.
Captain Davis' design called for an
octagonal brick tower standing 14 feet in diameter at the base,
gracefully tapering vertically to a diameter of 9 feet below the
gallery. Instead of supporting the gallery with a series of corbels as
was the custom, twelve successive courses of bricks were laid so as to
stand proud of the course immediately below, creating a flared
"stair-stepped" support for the gallery. Four windows were let
into the flared area to create a watch room from which all quadrants of
the horizon could be observed. Atop the gallery, a prefabricated
octagonal cast iron lantern was erected, and outfitted with a fixed
white 
The dwelling was located to the south
of the tower, with the two connected by a covered passageway which also
housed the single entrance to both structures. The gable end walls of
the two story brick dwelling extended vertically above the roof line,
and featured a stair-stepped detail at their upper edge which mirrored
the stepping of the tower gallery support. Erected atop a full cellar,
which served double duty for the storage of both household goods and
lamp oil, which was stored in a separate purpose specific room.
Prior to the 1870's, either
sperm whale or colza oil had been used for the lamps in US lighthouses.
Minimally flammable, and prone to congealing at lower temperatures, the
oil was stored within the dwellings where it would stay warm and its
viscosity low. However, with the change to the significantly more
volatile kerosene, a number of fires had broken-out at stations around
the nation, and the Lighthouse Board embarked on a project of erecting
stand-alone oil storage buildings at all of the nation's lighthouses
through the 1880's and 90's. To this end, a 360-gallon brick oil storage building
was constructed at the station in 1889. Standing 11 feet 10 inches by 16
feet 4 inches in plan. While the Lighthouse Board had two standard plans
to which such structures were normally built, they thoughtfully modified
the plan to include extended gable end walls with the stair-stepped
design to mirror those on the dwelling itself.
With the availability of reliable
electric power in the town which was growing up around the Light, the
station was electrified in 1924. With electrification, the
characteristic of the Light was changed on the opening of the 1925
navigation season through the installation of an 18,000 candlepower
incandescent electric lamp and electronic timer and switching mechanism.
Thus equipped, the light was set up to exhibit a triple flash every 10
seconds, with a resulting increase in visibility to 16 miles at sea.
Reference
Sources