TRANSPORTATION · LIGHTHOUSE
Thunder Bay Island Light
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Thunder Bay Island Light, on the southeast tip of Thunder Bay Island in Lake Huron off Michigan, is one of the state’s oldest operating lighthouses and a longstanding Great Lakes navigation point. The first U.S. lighthouse here, built in 1831, soon disintegrated, so it was rebuilt in 1832 as a local limestone tower. Enlarged and raised in 1857, it became the basis of the present 63-foot light. As shipping increased, the station added a fog bell, rebuilt keeper’s house, steam-powered fog horn, and a separate fog signal building. Staffed from 1832 until automation in 1983, it later entered preservation after deterioration.
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Alpena, Michigan
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