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From Michigan History Magazine
The Most Popular Sight
What unique architectural structure have most Great Lakes sightseers seen, either from a boat or from land?
If you answered "lighthouses," you are correct.
As the 2007 navigation season begins, lighthouses resume their important role of guiding Great Lakes mariners.
More
than a century ago, a newspaperman
described Great Lakes lighthouses as “the sailors’ altar.” In bad
weather - when giant waves and strong winds madesailing dangerous - a
sailor could count on the lighthouse. More eloquently, this writer
added, when the sailor strained to see the dangers in the darkness,
“the lighthouse flashes him a ray which guides his eye to the point of
safety.”
Michigan’s first lighthouse opened near
Port Huron in 1823. Over the course of the next century, dozens of
others were added. Eventually, more than 120 lighthouses were located
in Michigan waters - more lighthouses than in any other state. Most are
located on land or at the end of a pier, but some are isolated and
surrounded by water. They come in all shapes and sizes - conical,
skeletal, round and square. They are even floating lighthouses, like
the lightship Huron, which sat at the mouth of the St. Clair River for
34 seasons until its retirement in 1970. (Today, the lightship is a
museum in Port Huron.)
Today, the U.S. Coast Guard is
transferring ownership of Great Lakes lighthouses to other government
agencies and private citizens. Coupled with recent inventions like
sonar and global positioning, the role of lighthouses is changing.
However, these sentinels of the lakes have already written their own
chapter in Michigan’s rich history.
For more on Michigan’s lighthouse heritage or information on purchasing a copy of “Lighting the Way,” the Spring 2007 issue of Michigan History for Kids, call 800-366-3703 or visit www.michiganhistorymagazine.com.
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