McGulpin Point Lighthouse
Emmet County now owns the historic McGulpin Point Lighthouse, which protected shipping on the Straits of Mackinac against storms, fog and rocks between 1869 and 1909.
The county board of commissioners, which approved the purchase of the lighthouse in July entirely with county funds, has appointed a seven-member historical commission to determine how the lighthouse property will be used.
On Thursday, Aug. 24, the county board named the final two members of the historical commission and approved spending up to $20,000 to pursue the conversion of the Lighthouse property garage into a caretaker's home.
Closing on the property, located on just under 10 acres half a mile north of the Headlands Park, was completed on Friday, July 11, 2008. Purchased for $710,000 from the Peppler family, the property includes 336 feet of shoreline on the Straits with a commanding view of the Bridge.
The county reopened the lighthouse to the public with a gala celebration on May 30, 2009. View the Rededication of the Lighthouse video and read the press release.
The lighthouse's 3 1/2 order Fresnel lens was removed after it was decommissioned but Dick Moehl, president of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association (GLLKA), told the county board of commissioners last month that the tower could be restored to its original specifications. He said the Fresnel lens could be replicated in acrylic for about $50,000.
“In many ways McGulpin has the greatest potential for public accessibility and interest of any Lighthouse on the Great Lakes. We will help Emmet County achieve its goals in every possible way,” Moehl said.
Jim Tamlyn, chair of the county board of commissioners and a resident of Mackinaw City, said the value of the purchase to the public was inestimable.
“The lighthouse has been closed to the public for about 100 years, and now it’s going to be reopened. It sits on the oldest piece of deeded property in Emmet County. The 640-acre parcel was surveyed by Aaron Greeley in 1808 and deeded to Patrick McGulpin on June 1, 1811 by President James Madison.
"The first child of a McGulpin was born on the site in 1762.
"The history of this piece of property truly belongs to the citizens of Emmet County.
“It has tremendous historical value. The large boulder that currently sits in the water at the base of the property was described in a letter sent back to France in 1749 as at times high and dry, at other times totally covered by water. That led the letterwriter to conclude that the Straits went up and down by eight feet over periods of time."
With judicious trimming of trees there is potential for expansive views from the tower of the Bridge, Straits the Upper Peninsula and Mackinac Island.
Tom McGrath, National Parks Service Director, Historic Preservation Training Center, Frederick, MD, visited the lighthouse with Moehl, Tamlyn and County Controller Lyn Johnson, earlier in the month and told them he considered the lighthouse a national treasure. He offered his assistance in restoring the tower.
According to Terry Pepper, executive director of the GLLKA, the lighthouse was built in early 1869 after the National Lighthouse Board petitioned Congress for the construction a lighthouse and fog bell at McGulpin Point, about three miles west of Fort Michilimackinac.
"During the 1850's, vessel traffic through the Straits of Mackinac was increasing rapidly, and although the Waugoshance lighthouse (several miles to the west) had been guiding mariners through the western entrance into the Straits since 1851, the absence of a navigational aid within the narrowest point of the Straits made passage during darkness and periods of low visibility somewhat difficult," Pepper wrote.
With the construction of the Old Mackinac Point light and fog signal in 1892, the Lighthouse Board determined that the McGulpin Point station would no longer serve its once critical mission, because the new light on Old Mackinac Point was visible throughout the Straits.
The keeper's dwelling and tower were constructed of Cream City brick, with the tower integrated into the northwest corner of the building. The original brick remains in near-perfect condition today.
The dwelling sat on a full cellar, which contained two general purpose areas and an oil storage room. A cast-iron spiral stairs connected the oil room to the tower.