Lightship placed at Waugoshance Shoal. First lightship on Great Lakes.
St. Joseph Light constructed. The Chicago Harbor and St. Joseph Lights, both constructed in 1832, were the first lights on Lake Michigan.
Thunder Bay Island Light constructed.

1838

Bois Blanc Island (Lake Huron) Light replaced. Original tower collapsed in same year.
Gibraltar Light constructed (Detroit River, south)
Windmill Point light constructed (Detroit River, north)

1839

Bois Blanc Island (Lake Huron) Light reconstructed.
Grand River (Grand Haven) Light constructed.
Saugatuck (Kalamazoo River) Light constructed.
South Manitou Island light constructed.

1840 - 1849

1840

Old Presque Isle Light (Lake Huron) constructed.

1841

Saginaw River Rear Range Light constructed.

1848

DeTour Light constructed.
Little Traverse Light constructed.

1849

Copper Harbor Light constructed.
Whitefish Point Light constructed. Copper Harbor and Whitefish Point Lights first lights on Lake Superior.

1850 - 1859

1850

Manitou Island (Lake Superior) Light constructed.

1851

Eagle Harbor Light constructed.
Skillagalee (Ile Aux Galets) Light constructed.
Waugoshance Light constructed, replacing lightship stationed at site. First major crib structure built for lighthouse on Great Lakes.

1852

Beaver Island (Beaver Head) Light constructed.
Muskegon Light constructed.
Ontonagon Light constructed.
U.S. Congress creates nine member Lighthouse Board to manage lighthouses throughout America, replacing the "General Superintendent of Lights." Action reorganizes administrative structure, lighthouse equipment, and lighthouse practices in America.

1853

Cheboygan Light (Lighthouse Point) constructed.
Grand Traverse (Cat's Head) Light constructed.
Marquette Harbor light constructed.
Tawas Point (Ottawa Point) Light constructed.

1854

Eagle River Light constructed.
U.S. Congress appropriates funds for lifeboats for 25 stations on Great Lakes, but makes no provision for personnel.

1855

Grand Island North Light constructed.
Grand Haven Light constructed supplementing Grand River light.
Point Iroquois Light constructed.
Rock Harbor (Isle Royale) Light constructed
Round Island (St. Mary's River) Light constructed
Sault Ste. Marie locks opened. Lock measures 350 feet long, 70 feet wide, 9 feet deep.

1856

Beaver Island Harbor (St. James) Light constructed.
Portage River (Jacobsville) Light constructed.

1857

Charity Island Light constructed.
Pointe Aux Barques Light constructed.
Thunder Bay Island Light reconstructed.
Schooners Lamplighter and Watchful purchased as lighthouse tenders. First two vessels dedicated exclusively to lighthouse service on Great Lakes.

1858

Beaver Island (Beaver Head) Light reconstructed.
Grand Traverse Light (Cat's Head Point) reconstructed. Original structures destroyed.
Harbor Beach Point Light constructed.
Point Betsie Light constructed.
Point Iroquois Light constructed.
Rock Harbor (Isle Royale) Light discontinued.
South Manitou Island Light (Lake Michigan) reconstructed.

1859

Saugatuck (Kalamazoo River) Light rebuilt after original structure washed out by erosion.
St Clair Flats Old Channel (South Channel) Lights constructed.
St Joseph Light relocated and reconstructed.

1860 - 1869

1861

DeTour Light reconstructed using design similar to Manitou Island Light (Lake Superior).
Fort Gratiot Light reconstructed.
Manitou Island (Lake Superior) Light reconstructed using design similar to Whitefish Point.
Whitefish Point Light tower replaced.

1862

Schooner Dream replaces lighthouse tender Lamplighter.

1863

Schooner Belle enters lighthouse tender service.

1865

Copper Harbor Range Lights constructed.

1866

Beaver Island (Beaver Head) Light keeper's house constructed.
Huron Island (28 miles southeast of Houghton) Light constructed
Marquette Harbor Light reconstructed.
Peninsula Point Light constructed.
Windmill Point Light reconstructed.

1867

Big Sable Point Light lit November 1.
Copper Harbor Light relocated and reconstructed.
Escanaba (Sand Point) Light constructed.
Gull Rock Light lit November 1.
Ontonagon Light reconstructed, replacing original light.
Schooner Watchful leaves service as lighthouse tender.
Steam Propeller Haze enters service as first, steam powered lighthouse tender on Great Lakes.

1868

Bois Blanc Island (Lake Michigan) Light built. 1838 tower and keeper dwelling abandoned.
Grand Island East Channel (Munising) Light constructed.
Grand Island North Light reconstructed.
Granite Island (11 miles north of Marquette) Light constructed.
Huron Island Light lit October 28.
Portage River Range Lights constructed.
Skillagalee (Ile Aux Galets) Light reconstructed.
South Fox Island Light constructed.
Thunder Bay Island Light Keepers residence reconstructed.

1869

Copper Harbor Rear Range Light reconstructed.
McGulpin's Point Light completed.
Sturgeon Point Light completed (light first lit 1870).

1870 - 1879

1870

Beaver Island (St. James) Light reconstructed.
Manistee Pierhead Light constructed.
Mendota (Bete Grise) Light constructed.
Point Iroquois Light reconstructed.
Portage River (Jacobsville) Light reconstructed.
Presque Isle Range Lights constructed.
Old Mission Point Light constructed.
Waugoshance Light reconstructed.

1871

Eagle Harbor Light reconstructed
Ludington Pierhead Light constructed.
Manistee Pierhead Light destroyed by fire.
Mendota (Bete Grise) Light abandoned.
New Presque Isle Light (Lake Huron) constructed. Old Presque Isle Light abandoned.
Point Iroquois Light reconstructed. Original buildings destroyed.
White River Pier light constructed.
Steam propeller Warrington enters service as lighthouse tender.
U.S. Congress, after loss of 214 lives during the 1870-71 Great Lakes navigational season, appropriates funds for new lifesaving stations and to hire paid crews.

1872

Holland Harbor Light constructed.
South Haven South Pier Light constructed.
South Manitou Island Light reconstructed.

1873

Frankfort Breakwater light constructed.
Gibraltar Light reconstructed
Manistee South Pierhead Light constructed.
St. Helena Island Light constructed.
Schooner Belle runs aground and is abandoned as lighthouse tender.

1874

Au Sable Point Light constructed.
Eagle River Light moved to new location.
Little Sable Point Light constructed.
Rock Harbor (Isle Royale) Light refurbished and relit.
Spectacle Reef Light lit June 1.
Steam propeller Dahlia, first vessel specifically designed to serve as a Great Lakes lighthouse tender, enters service.

1875

Alpena Light constructed.
Grand Haven South Pierhead Light added, likely originally as a fog signal building to supplement existing Grand Haven South Pier Inner Light.
Isle Royale (Menagerie Island) Light constructed
Marquette Breakwater Outer Light constructed.
Poverty Island Light constructed.
St. Clair Flats Channel (South Channel) Lights reconstructed. St. Clair Flats original channel lights abandoned.
White River Light constructed, replacing pier light.
Windmill Point Light reconstructed.

1876

New Saginaw River Rear Range Light constructed. Original Saginaw River Rear Range light abandoned.
New Tawas Point Light constructed. Original Tawas Point Light abandoned.
First new life saving stations open on Great Lakes.

1877

Menonimee River Light constructed.

1878

Point Austin Reef Light constructed.
Sand Point (Keweenaw Bay, northeast of Baraga) Light constructed.
U.S. Congress creates Life-Saving Service as a separate agency within Treasury Dept.

1879

Gibraltar Light abandoned.
Rock Harbor (Isle Royale) Light abandoned.

1880 - 1889

1880

Big Sable Point Light tower brick tuckpointed due to severe deterioration.
Cheboygan River Range Lights lit.
Pipe Island Light constructed (date approximate).
Lighthouse tender Lotus enters service.

1881

Sault Ste. Marie, Weitzel Lock opens. Lock measures 515 feet long, 60 feet wide, 11.4 feet deep.

1882

Passage Island (Isle Royale) Light lit July 1. Northernmost U.S. Lighthouse on the Great Lakes.
Stannard Rock Light lit July 4.
Tonnage of steam powered vessels on Great Lakes equals that of sail powered vessels for first time.

1883

Copper Harbor Light discontinued.
Waugoshance Light reconstructed to include fog signal.

1884

Little Traverse (Harbor Point) Light lit September 25.

1885

Detroit River Light constructed.
Charlevoix Pier Light (north pier) constructed.
Harbor Beach (Sand Beach) Breakwater Light constructed. Detroit River Light and Harbor Beach Light share identical designs.

1886

Port Sanilac Light constructed.

1888

Alpena Light reconstructed.
Copper Harbor Light relit.
Skillagalee (Ile Aux Galets) Light reconstructed. Tower built in 1868 demolished.

1890 - 1899

1890

Ontonagon Light addition completed
Lighthouse tender Marigold enters service.

1891

Windmill Point Light reconstructed.
Lightship #55 stationed at Simmon's Reef
Lightship #56 stationed at White Shoal
Lightship #57 stationed at Gray's Reef.
Lighthouse tender Amaranth enters service.

1892

Old Mackinac Point Light constructed.
Round Island Light (St. Mary's River) constructed.
Seul Choix Point Light lit.
Squaw Island Light constructed.

1894

Fourteen Mile Point (14 miles north of Ontonagon) Light constructed.
Grosse Ile North Channel Light constructed.
Point Betsie Light keeper's house modified.

1895

Eagle Harbor Light adds fog signal
Grand Haven South Pier Inner Light reconstructed.
Grand Marais Harbor Range Outer Light constructed.
Mendota (Bete Grise) Light reestablished.
Round Island (Lake Huron) Light constructed.
Seul Choix Point Light construction completed.

1896

Big Bay Point (24 miles northwest of Marquette) Light constructed.
Sault Ste. Marie Poe Lock opened. Lock measures 800 feet long, by 100 feet wide, by 18 feet deep.

1897

Forty Mile Point (seven miles northwest of Rogers City) Light lit.

1898

Grand Marais Harbor Range Inner Light constructed.

1899

Grand Traverse (Cat's Head Point) Light adds fog signal building.
Port Austin Reef Light modified.

1900 - 1909

1900

Charity Island Light fully automated.
Big Sable Point Light brick tower encased in steel plates.
Lightship #55 stationed at Lansing Shoal.

1901

Lighthouse tender Lotus leaves service.

1902

Point Iroquois Light expanded.

1903

Muskegon South Pier Light constructed, replacing former light.
South Haven South Pier Light reconstructed.
Crisp Point Light fog signal activated at site of pre-existing Life Saving Service station.

1904

Crisp Point Light lit May 5.

1905

Grand Haven South Pier Inner Light reconstructed.
Middle Island Light constructed.
St. Martin Island Light constructed.
Steam Propeller Haze leaves lighthouse service.

1906

Grosse Ile North Channel Front Range Light reconstructed.
Marquette Harbor Light reconstructed.
McGulpin's Point Light abandoned.
Lighthouse tender Aspen enters service.

1907

Holland Harbor Light (Big Red) reconstructed.
Marquette Harbor Light keeper's house modified.
St. Joseph Norther Pier Inner and Outer Lights reconstructed, replacing earlier St. Joseph Light.

1908

Eagle River Light abandoned, eventually replaced by Sand Hills Light.
Marquette Breakwater Outer Light reconstructed.
Munising Range Lights constructed.
Peche Island Rear Range Light constructed.
Rock of Ages (Isle Royale) Light constructed with temporary light.

1909

Au Sable Point Light addition
Lightship Martin stationed off Martin Reef.
Lighthouse tender Dahlia retired from service.

1910 - 1919

1910

Rock of Ages permanent light installed.
White Shoal Light lit September 1, replacing lightship.
U.S. Congress creates Bureau of Lighthouses, replacing the Lighthouse Board.

1911

Steam propeller Warrington leaves lighthouse tender service.

1912

Waugoshance Light abandoned (replaced by White Shoal Light).

1913

Grand Island East Channel Light (Munising) abandoned, replaced by Munising Range Lights.

1914

Alpena Light reconstructed.
Charlevoix Pier Light moved from north to south pier.
Sault Ste. Marie, Davis Lock opened. Lock measures 1,350 feet long, 80 feet wide, 25 feet deep.

1915

Saugatuck (Kalamazoo River) Light abandoned.
U.S. Congress creates U.S. Coast Guard by combining U.S. Life- Saving Service and Revenue Cutter Service. Lighthouse Service remains an independent federal agency.

1917

Manistique Harbor Light constructed.

1919

Copper Harbor Light automated.
Sand Hills Light (located 22 miles north of Houghton) constructed, replaced closed Eagle River Light.
Sault Ste. Marie, Sabin Lock opened. Lock measures 1,350 long, 80 feet wide, 25 feet deep.

1920 - 1929

1920

Portage River (Keweenaw) Lower Entrance Light reconstructed.

1921

Lightship #103, Relief commissioned. Used as relief vessel to replace other lightships on Great Lakes.

1922

Grand Haven South Pierhead Light reconstructed.

1923

Round Island (St. Mary's River) Light replaced by skeletal steel tower.
St. Helena Island Light fully automated.

1924

Ludington North Pierhead Light reconstructed.

1925

Cheboygan Light (Lighthouse Point) abandoned (date approximate).
First radio navigation beacon used in Great Lakes installed on lightship in Lake Huron.

1927

Copper Harbor Front Range Light reconstructed.
Manistee North Pierhead Light reconstructed.
Martin Reef Light constructed, replacing lightship Martin.
Menominee River (Pierhead) Light reconstructed.

1928

Squaw Island Light abandoned (replaced by Lansing Shoal Light).
Lansing Shoal Light constructed replacing lightship.

1929

Poe Reef Light constructed replacing lightship. Light design identical to that of Martin Reef.
William Livingstone Memorial Light (Belle Isle, Detroit) constructed.

1930 - 1939

1930

Fourteen Foot Shoal (Cheboygan Harbor) Light constructed as a fully automated light, serviced by crew of nearby Poe Reef Light.
Our Son, last commercial sailing ship on the Great Lakes, sinks in Lake Michigan.
Crisp Point Light likely decommissioned (sources disagree, alternate decommissioning date 1947).

1931

DeTour Point Light constructed, replacing light located onshore in town of DeTour, which was abandoned.

1932

Frankfort North Breakwater Light reconstructed.
Holland Harbor Light (Big Red) automated.

1933

Copper Harbor Light rebuilt
Fort Gratiot Light fully automated.
Old Mission Point Light decommissioned.
Windmill Point Light reconstructed.

1934

Minneapolis Shoal Light constructed.
South Fox Island Light rebuilt. Original tower abandoned.

1935

Forty Mile Point Light reconstructed.
North Manitou Shoal Light (Lake Michigan) constructed.
Lightship Relief permanently stationed off Corsica Shores, renamed Huron.

1936

Holland Harbor Light tower removed and light relocated to tower placed on new tower projecting from roof of keeper's residence. Building covered with steel plates that are painted red.
Gray's Reef Light constructed replacing lightship. Identical to Minneapolis Shoal Light.

1937

Lighthouse tender Hollyhock enters service.

1939

Charity Island Light abandoned, replaced by Gravelly Shoal Light.
Escanaba (Sand Point) Light abandoned, replaced by Escanaba Crib Light.
Escanaba Crib Light constructed.
Granite Island Light fully automated.
Gravelly Shoal Light constructed.
Sand Hills Light fully automated.
Lighthouse tender Walnut enters service.
U.S. Congress transfers Lighthouse Service to jurisdiction of Coast Guard.

1940 - 1949

1941

Big Bay Point Light automated.
Isle Royale (Menagerie Island) Light fully automated.
Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light constructed.
St. Clair Crib Light constructed.
White River Light decommissioned.

1942

Bois Blanc Island (Lake Huron) Light reconstructed.
Cheboygan Light abandoned (date approximate)
Sault Ste. Marie, MacArthur Lock opened, replacing Weitzel Lock. MacArthur Lock 800 feet long, 80 feet wide, 31 feet deep.

1944

Point Iroquois Light expanded.

1946

Old Mission Point Light purchased by state of Michigan as site for public park (date approximate).
Lighthouse tender Marigold leaves service. Hull rebuilt as dredge Miss Mudhen II.
Lighthouse tender Amaranth leaves service. Sold to private company and renamed South Wind.

1947

Round Island (Lake Huron) Light abandoned.

1948

Charlevoix South Pier Light reconstructed.
Lighthouse tender Aspen leaves service.

1950 - 1959

1950

Keweenaw Waterway Upper Entrance Light constructed

1953

Port Austin Reef Light abandoned.

1954

Little Sable Point light automated. Keeper's dwelling demolished.
Sand Hills Light decommissioned.

1956

Abandoned Saugatuck (Kalamazoo River) Light destroyed by tornado.
Bois Blanc Island Light (Lake Michigan) decommissioned.

1957

Old Mackinac Point Light decommissioned, "replaced" by lights on newly constructed Mackinac Bridge.

1958

Au Sable Point Light automated. Ownership of land eventually transferred to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
South Manitou Island Light (Lake Michigan) abandoned. Station eventually becomes a historical museum, part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

1959

Peninsula Point Light keeper's residence destroyed by fire.

1960 - 1969

1960

Old Mackinac Point Light acquired by Mackinac Island State Park Commission.

1961

Big Bay Point Light replaced by nearby steel tower.
Grand Island North Light fully automated.
Stannard Rock Light, while in process of being fully automated, damaged by propane gas explosion, June 18.

1962

Beaver Island (Beaver Head) Light decommissioned, replaced by radio beacon on same site.
Rock Harbor (Isle Royale) Light restoration begun by National Park Service, which holds jurisdiction over light as part of the Isle Royale National Park.
Saginaw River Rear Range Light decommissioned.
Stannard Rock Light fully automated.

1963

Copper Harbor Light property acquired by Michigan Department of Natural Resources and eventually becomes a maritime museum incorporated into the Fort Wilkins State Park.
Grosse Ile North Channel Front Light decommissioned and sold to Grosse Ile Historical Society.

1964

Copper Harbor Rear Range Light reconstructed.
Ontonagon Light decommissioned.

1965

Point Iroquois Light abandoned and ownership of land transferred to United States Forest Service.

1966

White River Light property purchased by Fruitland Township. Keeper's dwelling used as local museum.

1969

Skillagalee (Ile Aux Galets) Light keeper's dwelling and fog signal building demolished.
Sault Ste. Marie, reconstructed Poe Lock opened. Lock measures 1,200 feet long, 110 feet wide, 31 feet deep.

1970 - 1979

1970

Holland Harbor Light structure (Big Red) abandoned by Coast Guard. Holland Harbor Lighthouse Historical Commission organized to restore and preserve landmark.
Whitefish Point Light automated.
Huron, last U.S. lightship on lakes, decommissioned and in 1971 donated to city of Port Huron to become a museum ship.

1972

Grand Traverse (Cat's Head) Light abandoned and replaced by skeletal steel tower with automatic light. Land subsequently leased to state of Michigan and currently forms part of Leelanau State park.
Huron Island Light fully automated.

1976

Gray's Reef Light fully automated.
Lansing Shoal Light fully automated
White Shoal Light fully automated.

1978

Rock of Ages Light fully automated.

1980 - 1989

1980

Eagle Harbor Light fully automated

1982

Eagle Harbor Lighthouse licensed by Coast Guard to the Keweenaw County Historical Society for use as a museum. Museum opened to public July 17, 1983.
Peche Island Rear Range light tower replaced. Old tower moved to maritime park in Marine City.
Spectacle Reef Lighthouse third order Fresnal lens replaced by automated beacon. Lens donated to Inland Seas Maritime Museum, Vermillion, OH were it is displayed.

1983

Point Betsie, last attended light in Michigan, fully automated.
Point Iroquois Light restoration begun by Mills-Brimley Historical Society.

1984

Fourteen Mile Point Light severely damaged by fire, July 30.
Port Austin Reef Light restoration begun under a ten year contract negotiated by Lou Schillinger.

1985

Escanaba (Sand Point) obtained by Delta County Historical Society which begins extensive restoration project.

1986

Cheboygan Crib Light relocated onshore by city of Cheboygan after being abandoned by Coast Guard.
St. Helena Island Light restoration undertaken by Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers' Association (GLLKA).

1988

New Presque Isle Light (Lake Huron) reconstructed as part of Presque Isle Township Park.
Port Austin Reef Lighthouse Association formed to continue restoration of light.

1990 - 1999

1990

Saginaw River Rear Range Light purchased by Dow Chemical Company, whose property surrounded light.

1991

Robert H. Manning Memorial Light constructed in Empire.

1997

Crisp Point Light tower becomes property of Luce County, working in cooperation with Crisp Point Light Historical Society.

1998

One thousand cubic yards of stone placed in front of Crisp Point Light tower in effort to stabilize structure by stopping beach erosion.

Sources

There is no single source from which to extract a chronology of Michigan lighthouses and lighthouse-related information. This chronology rests largely on information drawn from John L. Wagner, Michigan Lighthouses: An Aerial Photographic Perspective (East Lansing: John L. Wagner, 1994); Francis Ross Holland, Jr., America's Lighthouses: Their Illustrated History since 1716 (Brattleboro, Vermont: Stephen Greene Press, 1972), and Charles Hyde, The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes (Lansing: Two Peninsula Press, 1986).