Return of the Fog Signal Whistle Posted April 21, 2017 A piece of Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse has been missing since 1957 – a fog signal whistle. Our Museum Historian, Craig Wilson, describes the history of the signal whistle and provides a demonstration of the whistle and what guests can expect this summer.
Visitors at Old Mackinac Point Posted March 9, 2017 Some visitors, like this Lighthouse Service inspector being greeted by Keeper George Marshall, came on official business. The Old Mackinac Point light station was always popular with visitors. While tourists today visit the preserved light station as an historic site and museum, beginning in 1890 visitors also toured the station while it served as an active aid to navigation. (more…)
Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse and the Armistice Day Storm of 1940 Posted November 17, 2016 November storms on the Great Lakes are infamous for their ferocity and violence. Some, such as the Great Storm of 1913, which sank 12 ships and killed over 250 people, or the 1975 storm that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald, are well known. In November 1940, another strong storm struck the Great Lakes and caused widespread damage, including in the Straits of Mackinac. (more…)
Two New Vingettes Join Nearly 60 Years of Publications Posted August 5, 2016 Mackinac State Historic Parks is pleased to announce the publication of two new vignettes as part of its Mackinac History series. Numbers six and seven of the fourth volume are “Relics of Maritime Tragedy: Objects from Straits of Mackinac Shipwrecks” by Registrar Brian Jaseschke and “The Changing Face of Fort Mackinac” by Museum Historian Craig Wilson. (more…)
Life as a Child at Old Mackinac Point Posted July 18, 2016 Although it was an official government installation intended to guide ships safely through the Straits of Mackinac, the Old Mackinac Point Light Station was also home to several families, complete with pets and children. Between 1890 and 1957, several kids lived at the station, each experiencing and sometimes helping with the daily routine of operating a Great Lakes lighthouse. Olsens- Keeper Henrik Olsen with his wife, Nila, and their sons Ray and Bruce. Keeper James Marshall poses with his three children sometime around 1930. They are proudly displaying the “Efficiency” flag awarded to Old Mackinac Point. Chester Marshall and Delcie, daughter of his sister Ethel, play outside on the station grounds in 1916. (more…)
A Century Ago at Old Mackinac Point – December 15, 1915 Posted December 15, 2015 Have you ever kept a journal or a diary? Looking back at what you’ve written can help you remember ideas, special events, and how you felt at a certain time. A century ago, the keepers at the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse were required to keep a log of their daily activities, and while the logs don’t reveal the keepers’ emotions, they do tell us a great deal about what life was like at the station. (more…)
The Marshalls of Old Mackinac Point Posted June 29, 2015 Many lighthouses around the Great Lakes were home to dedicated light keepers and their families, some of whom served at the same stations for years. At Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, tending the light station became a family affair, with members of the Marshall family living and working at the lighthouse for 50 years. (more…)
Anniversary of the Cedarville Posted May 7, 2015 At 9:45 a.m. on Friday, May 7, 1965, two ships collided in dense fog in the middle of the Straits of Mackinac. One of them, the limestone-carrying freighter Cedarville, capsized and sank approximately 40 minutes later just off Old Mackinac Point. Fifty years later, the loss of Cedarville remains the one of the worst maritime disasters in the straits, claiming 10 lives. (more…)
March 3, 1891: Funds Appropriated for Building a Lighthouse at the Old Mackinac Point Light Station Posted March 3, 2014 On March 3, 1891, almost two years to the day after authorizing the construction of a light station at Old Mackinac Point, the U.S. Congress appropriated $20,000 to build a light tower, keepers’ dwelling, barn, and oil house at the site. These new structures would join Old Mackinac Point’s fog signal station, which had been authorized in 1889 and completed in 1890. (more…)
Lamps and Lenses: How Old Mackinac Point Shed its Light Posted December 17, 2012 What puts the light in a lighthouse? Until 1913, a single lamp provided the light for the beacon at the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse. This lamp is similar to the one used in the first 20 years of the lighthouse’s existence. It was eventually replaced with a gas lamp and then an electric light. This diagram shows how even a small amount of light from the lamp could be magnified using a number of prisms in a Fresnel lens. (Click to enlarge) Like most other lighthouses in the United States, Old Mackinac Point used a kerosene lantern not unlike those still found in many homes today. Keeper George Marshall’s duties included regularly fueling the lamp, as it burned over 5 ounces of kerosene per hour. A red glass lamp chimney originally produced a red light, helping sailors identify Old Mackinac Point. Both the kerosene lamp and red light were replaced in 1913, when the U.S. Lighthouse Service installed an incandescent oil vapor mechanism, which produces a white light similar to a modern camping lantern. While the kerosene lamp itself shone brightly, a fourth-order Fresnel lens amplified the Old Mackinac Point light until it was visible to a distance of 16 miles. The lens contained a series of stacked magnifying glasses around its center, with each glass focusing the light from the one beneath it. Prisms ringed the lens above and below the magnifying glasses. These prisms caught and bent more light, focusing it into the central beam created by the magnifiers. The entire lens rotated around the lamp, creating a flashing signature (one flash every 10 seconds) unique to Old Mackinac Point.
