Alpena Light

Alpena Light stands on the north breakwater of Alpena Harbor on Lake Huron, marking the entrance to the Thunder Bay River and serving a harbor shaped by the region’s timber trade. After early petitions from lumber interests, the light was established at the river mouth in 1875. A temporary offshore pole light gave way to a wooden tower in 1877, which burned in 1888, before the present steel-framed lighthouse was completed in 1914. Its fog signals and lighting changed over time, five keepers served there until 1965, and automation followed in 1974. Still active, it is also a well-known local symbol.

Alpena, Michigan · United States