Beaver Island Harbor Light stands at St. James on the north end of Beaver Island in Lake Michigan, beside a U.S. Coast Guard station that began as a lifesaving station. Also known as St. James Light, St. James Harbor Light, and Whiskey Point Light, it marks a harbor long valued as a refuge from the lake’s frequent storms. The point was named for an 1838 fur trading post known for selling whiskey. As St. James Harbor grew in the 1850s into an important safe haven for vessels in rough weather, a lighthouse was added in 1856, and the present Cream City Brick tower was built in 1870. It still serves navigation today.