Martin Reef Light Station was built in northern Lake Huron to mark a dangerously shallow reef near the approach to the Straits of Mackinac, a hazard made more urgent by rising Great Lakes shipping tied to Upper Peninsula iron ore traffic. After years of delay, a lightship began service in 1909, but larger ships and longer seasons soon showed it was insufficient. In 1927 a permanent offshore lighthouse was constructed on a concrete-filled crib, with a reinforced, steel-sheathed tower, lantern, and fog signal. Later automated and modernized, the station remains significant for its role in navigation, its distinctive design, and its preservation as a historic place.