Dianna Stampfler - Michigans Haunted Lighthouses

Published by Haunted America

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC

www.historypress.com

Copyright 2019 by Dianna Higgs Stampfler

All rights reserved

Front cover: Saginaw River Rear Range Lighthouse by Mike Sonneberg. LostInMichigan.net.

First published 2019

e-book edition 2019

ISBN 978.1.43966.630.2

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018963520

print edition ISBN 978.1.46714.199.4

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Dedicated to all the passionate keepers of Michigans lighthouses and those who refuse to let their histories be extinguished

The numbers on this map of Michigan lighthouses correspond to the chapters. Authors Collection.

CONTENTS

PREFACE

I was in the dark about Michigans historic lighthouses until 1997, when I began working at the West Michigan Tourist Association (WMTA)the oldest continually operating regional tourist association in the country. My first project as the marketing and media director was to research the lights on the official 1,100-mile Lake Michigan Circle Tour (LMCT) route, established in 1987 by Jack Morgan of the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Im not sure how I made it through my life up until that point having no concept of lighthouses and the fact that Michigan has more than any other state, but that was a turning point for me. The lighthouses, and more importantly the stories of their keepers, became an immediate (and ongoing) fascination for me.

While at WMTA, I took the information I had gathered for the Lake Michigan Circle Tour Map & Guide and created a lighthouse presentation that I could share with groups at senior centers, libraries, museums, civic clubs and schools. Back in those days, it was a carousel slide show versus todays PowerPoint presentation.

I left WMTA in 2004 to launch my own consulting company, called Promote Michigan, offering services in public relations, social media, event planning and promotion around the state. Im a freelance writer and broadcaster, and Im still sharing Michigans Haunted Lighthouses (previously known as Michigans Ghostly Beacons) and Ladies of the Lights on a regular basis. Im excited that I now also have a book, with my name on the cover, to serve as a companion to the program.

Over the years, Ive held memberships in the Historical Society of Michigan and the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Associationboth have been instrumental in fueling my continued love of my home state of Michigan as well as my passion for lighthouses. Since I began working on this book, Ive also felt compelled to join many of the other lighthouse and maritime associations around the statebecause without these organizations, I wouldnt have had access to much of the information, documents and images that you find here.

Three individuals stand out for their early inspiration and support of me as a novice lighthouse historian:

Dick Moehl, who I met back in my WMTA days when he was the president of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association (GLLKA). Dick passed away in late 2015, but Ill always remember him for his dedication to our states historic lights.

Terry Pepper, who currently serves as the GLLKA president and maintains what I consider to be the premier website about Great Lakes lighthouses at TerryPepper.com. Whenever I need to verify information or clarify some fact or another, Terry and his website are there. Whenever someone asks me for information, I send them to Terrys site first, because chances are if he doesnt have it, no one else does either.

Fred Stonehouse, a well-known author and historian, whose countless books have provided information, entertainment and motivation for me in writing this book. I am honored to be able to quote all three of these legendary men as solid sources of places, names and dates for Michigans many haunted lighthouses throughout the pages of this book.

This project has been one filled with passion and excitement on a multitude of levels. Its allowed me to revisit many of our lights, gather more ghostly stories and work with my dad to research the family histories of these keepers. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it! And thank you to my dear friend and personal editor Paula, who took time out of her summer vacation to proofread this manuscript.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to my parents, who instilled in me a love of history, travel and storytelling; my children, who continue to indulge me in my passion for all things Michigan; and my favorite traveling companion, ghost hunter and tombstone tourist.

INTRODUCTION

Michigan doesnt have an official state structure, but if it did, it would likely be either the 5-mile Mackinac Bridge (opened in 1957 and an aid to navigation itself) or a lighthouse to represent the 120 or so beacons that stand tall along more than 3,200 miles of Great Lakes freshwater shoreline.

Well before Michigan became the twenty-sixth state in the Union on January 26, 1837, lighthouses were becoming a recognized part of the landscape, serving as navigational aids for shipping, fishing, lumbering and mining industries that shaped the states early history.

The first was Fort Gratiot, constructed at the entrance of the St. Clair River and Lake Huron in 1825 by Lucius Lyona pioneer, surveyor and eventual deputy surveyor general of the Michigan Territory. He later represented Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. Named after General Charles Gratiot, who engineered the construction of the nearby Fort Gratiot Military Outpost in 1814, this was one of the few European settlements north of Detroit at the time.

The city of St. Joseph was home to the first light station on Lake Michigan, dating back to 1832 (although the current range light system wasnt built until 19061907). That first lighthouse was a single-story dwelling made of stone. In 1859, a new, two-story structure was built on a bluff overlooking the city. It remained operational until 1924 and was demolished in 1955. During the early years, St. Joseph also was home to the lighthouse depot for Lake Michigan until service was transferred to Milwaukee in 1917.

Construction began in 1847 on the Whitefish Point Light Station on Lake Superior, regarded as the most important beacon on that body of water as all vessels entering and leaving the lake must pass by. It was near Whitefish Point, in 1975, that the Edmund Fitzgerald sank on November 10 during an early-season squall. It is no wonder this treacherous shoreline of Lake Superior is known as the Graveyard of the Great Lakes, as there are more shipwrecks here than any other locale on the lake.

On a national level, all lighthouses were administered by the U.S. Treasurys Lighthouse Establishment, which was formed in 1791. After great dissatisfaction with the administration of these lights, responsibility for them was removed from the Treasury Department by an act of Congress in 1853 and transferred to the U.S. Lighthouse Board, which became the second agency of the federal government to take over responsibility for the construction and maintenance of all lights and other navigation aids. Around 1910, it fell to the Lighthouse Service, under the Department of Commerce, to maintain these maritime structures. The Lighthouse Service merged with the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939.