Port Austin Light stands on a hazardous rocky reef in Lake Huron about 2.5 miles north of Port Austin, beyond Michigan’s Thumb. First lit in 1878 after plans for a shore site were abandoned, it was built offshore and later modified, remaining in service into the present as an automated light. The octagonal yellow-brick tower and attached keeper’s house rise prominently above the water, where the station’s exposed setting has long complicated access. After decades of wear, local volunteers began major restoration in 1990, helping preserve this distinctive offshore light, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.