Guess which state has the most lighthouses? New York? California? Florida? If you said, Michigan, you are correct. At its zenith, Michigan had more than 130 lighthouses. Are you a lighthouse lover? The U.S. General Services Administration is handing over the keys to 12 lighthouses.
As part of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, the GSA, in partnership with the Coast Guard and National Parks Service is awarding stewardship of defunct lighthouses to groups that would preserve the structures.
The administration is accepting applications from local historical societies, community preservation groups and nonprofit groups. There is no cost for the lighthouses. They are free to a good home. Want to know which lighthouses are up for adoption? There are several available in areas of the Great Lakes in Ohio on Lake Erie, and Wisconsin on Lake Michigan. For other lighthouses available for auction, visit here. You have to act fast: most several auctions are ending in July. In Michigan, these three lighthouses need caretakers
* Near the straits of Mackinaw, near Cross Village, there is a lighthouse on the Skillagalee Rock, west of the Waugoshance Light. It is only a narrow island, near the straits and available by boat only. Skillagalee Rock Light contains a fourth order Fresnel lens. A white octagonal 58 foot building is all that is left from the 1888 caretakers cottage. Skillagalee Rock Light is also called Ile aux Galets Light.
* Located off Point Aux Barges north of Michigan's thumb, and Bad Axe, is the Port Austin Reef Light. The lighthouse is built in a rectangle brick tower with attached fog light structure. It sits two and a half miles north of Port Austin in Lake Huron.
* The Alpena Light is located on the mouth of Thunder Bay on a narrow point. This is a very small light, nicknamed "Sputnik" for its shape. This light sits on steel legs and in a suspended watch room. The Alpena Light, also called the Alpena Breakwater Light, has a colorful history and is thought to be the only lighthouse in the United States which was built in this style.
Most of us won't be able to be a caretaker for a lighthouse, but we can visit. If you've never explored a lighthouse, or taken a tour, I encourage you to do so. It's educational, plus something more.
Lighthouses are symbols of romance and adventurous about lighthouses. Over the years, their beacons have welcomed many a weary mariner and warned off thousands of ships and saved probably millions of lives. My sons and husband are busy calculating how they could manage to obtain one of these lighthouses. They say that seafaring runs in the blood. I think lighthouse preservation is, too.
A life-long resident of "Pure Michigan", Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes about people, places, events and issues.
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