Saginaw River Rear Range Light

Built in 1876 at the mouth of Michigan’s Saginaw River, the rear range light was the taller inland member of a two-light system that guided vessels safely into the channel. It replaced an earlier lighthouse after river dredging in 1867 changed navigation for larger ships traveling inland during the region’s lumber and shipping boom. Designed by Major Godfrey Weitzel, it combined a tower and keeper’s dwelling on a raised concrete base suited to swampy ground. Electrified in 1915, it later housed Coast Guard personnel. Though no longer active, it survives as a reminder of the river’s importance to trade, navigation, and maritime engineering.

Michigan · United States