Waugoshance Light stands in ruins offshore at the northern end of Lake Michigan, where it was built in 1851 to warn ships away from the dangerous Waugoshance Shoal near the Straits of Mackinac. The site had served navigation since 1832 with the Great Lakes’ first lightvessel, and the lighthouse became notable for its water-surrounded construction, massive crib foundation, rare birdcage lantern, and early Fresnel lens. Its keepers were remembered for ringing warning bells through the smoke-darkened great fires of October 1871. Deactivated in 1912, the station later suffered bombing practice, fire, and decay, and it is now critically endangered.