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Fort Gratiot
Lighthouse
Fort Gratiot, named after General Charles
Gratiot, the engineer in charge of its construction, was established in
1814 to guard the juncture of Lake Huron and the St. Clair River.
The Fort Gratiot Lighthouse is the oldest
lighthouse in Michigan and the second oldest on the Great Lakes. The
first lighthouse in this area was built in 1825 and was located
approximately where the first Blue Water Bridge stands. De to poor
construction and a storm, it collapsed in 1828. In 1829, a new
lighthouse was built north of the military fort by Lucius Lyon, who
later became one of Michigan's first U.S. Senators. The new location
made it easier for ships to spot as they entered the rapids at the head
of the St. Clair River.
Originally seventy-four feet high, the
white painted brick tower was extended to its present height of
eighty-six feet in the early 1860s.
The first official lighthouse keeper,
Colonel George McDougall, Jr., served from 1825 until his death in 1842.
The green flashing light that was
automated in 1933 may be seen for seventeen miles. The two-story brick
lighthouse keeper's house, with its hipped gable roof and pointed gothic
porch, was built in 1874.
Today, a Coast Guard station and the
lighthouse watch over one of the busiest waterways in the world.
The photo on the left is believed to be
the oldest known photo of the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse. Taken in 1871, it
shows the original lighthouse keeper's quarters, which burned down in
December of 1873 due to candles catching a Christmas tree on fire.
The photo on the right was taken by
photographer Louis Pesha, circa 1910, and shows the foghorn building,
built in 1900, with its original chimney height, the Keepers' Duplex, as
well as what is believed to be one of the first foghorn buildings in the
left hand corner.
A colorized photo of the 1874-built Keepers' Duplex, circa 1914, shows how heavily wooded the property once was.
PUBLIC TOURS
The lighthouse property is currently
closed to the public.
Roxy and Bob say, "Come visit us soon!"
Fort Gratiot Lighthouse
Webcam!
Courtesy Army Corps of Engineers & NOAA
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