Links to other lighthouse, life saving and related sites of interest. If you would like your group or organization included please contact us.
Kendrick A. Claflin & Son offers antiques related to the US Lighthouse Service, US Life Saving Service and US Coast Guard. If you are interested in collecting any authentic nautical antiques from these services, this is the only place to get them.
Michigan Museums – Lighthouse & Life-Saving
White River Light Station. A Lake Michigan lighthouse owned and operated as a museum in Fruitland Township near Whitehall Michigan.
Copper Harbor Lighthouse museum located at the tip of the Keweenaw. Secondary link with Copper Harbor from the State of Michigan, look inside the lighthouse.
Visit the Huron Lightship Museum web site for lightship history, photographs and much more.
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Dedicated to collecting, preserving, studying and interpreting the material culture of the Great Lakes with primary emphasis on maritime history as it relates to the U.S. Lifesaving Service, U.S. Lighthouse Service, U.S. Coast Guard, ships and travelers who fell victim to the perils of maritime transport.
The Michigan Maritime Museum Conceived during the national Bicentennial celebration to commemorate the rich maritime heritage of the Great Lakes State, the museum has since developed to become one of this region’s most enterprising institutions of maritime research, preservation and education.
Great Lakes Lore Maritime MuseumThis museum, located in Rogers City Michigan, dedicates itself to honoring the men and women who served the shipping industry.
Marquette Maritime Museum – features lighthouse lens exhibits and get a tour of the lighthouse when you visit there.
Eagle Harbor Lighthouse Museum. Get a brief description of the lighthouse and exhibits.
Valley Camp Ship Museum – Explore an actual lake freighter! Have you wished you could go aboard one of those long Great Lakes freighters and see for yourself what they are really like? Would you like to explore the interior of an ore boat and see how the crew lived, slept, and worked? The steamer “VALLEY CAMP” offers you the unique opportunity to explore her steam engine, dining rooms, crew’s quarters, pilot house and many other fascinating sites.
Huron City Museum – US Life Saving Service building from Point Aux Barques. Huron City has been preserved as a museum by the descendants of Langdon Hubbard. His grand-daughter Carolyn Hubbard Parcells Lucas opened the museum to the public in 1952. Huron City Museums represent 150 years of history and celebrates its 50th year of public service in 2002.
Seul Choix Point Lighthouse – The Seul Choix Point Lighthouse located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan’s Gulliver area. Is operated by the Gulliver Historical Society, in cooperation with the DNR.
Grand Traverse Lighthouse – Marking the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula, the Grand Traverse Lighthouse has guided sailors and their ships safely into the Manitou Passage, Straits of Mackinaw and Grand Traverse Bay for nearly 150 years.
The Pointe Aux Barques Lighthouse preservation group has been formed to take care of the lighthouse and document its history. They are working hard on preservation efforts and have been formed in the last few years. Please view their web site to get updated on projects the group is working on, area history and exhibits.
Michigan Lighthouse Preservation Groups
Complete Great Lakes historical information, books and more by the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keeper’s Association GLLKA.
South Channel Lights preservation group dedicated to preserving the Old South Channel Range Lights on Lake Saint Clair.
Crisp Point Light Historical Society Crisp Point was one of the four original Lake Superior Life Saving Stations. This group is dedicated to restoring and improving the light station, which is currently close to toppling into Superior as a result of significant surface erosion and lake encroachment.
Saginaw River Marine Historical Society Owned by Dow Chemical Corporation the Saginaw River Rear Range lighthouse is being preserved by the Saginaw River Marine Historical Society with the costs being picked up by Dow Chemical.
South Fox Island – This site is sometimes working. It is for the preservation of the South Fox island lighthouses. Please try and contact the local group for more information. A second web site is in development right now and can be found by clicking here.
Forty Mile Point Lighthouse preservation organization. Is preserving the Forty (40) Mile Point lighthouse located between Alpena and Cheboygan. Open six days a week (closed Mondays) from Memorial Day weekend to Lighthouse Festival in mid-October
Huron Island –The Huron Island Lighthouse Preservation Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the historical and architectural features of the lighthouse and adjacent properties for future generations.
Waugoshance Preservation Society has been formed to raise the funds to secure the presently standing structure while a long term lease is drawn up, giving the Society temporary ownership, for the restoration process.
Thunder Bay Lighthouse Preservation Society has been formed to care for the aging Thunder Bay Island Lighthouse. It is need of repairs now and the group is actively seeking assistance.
The DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society is actively restoring one of Michigan’s offshore lighthouses with great success. Their web site contains historic photographs and history of this offshore lighthouse.
Bed and Breakfast Michigan Lighthouses
Big Bay Lighthouse Located outside of Marquette Michigan it books up fast and reservations are strongly recommended. High atop a cliff jutting into the clear, deep waters of Lake superior, the Big Bay Point Lighthouse beckons travelers in search of a secluded retreat from modern life. This unique bed-and-breakfast inn is one of the few surviving resident lighthouses in the country and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sand Hills Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast This huge lighthouse on the Western shore of the Keweenaw has been converted into a bed and breakfast, and wonderfully furnished. Looking like no other light on the Lakes, Sand Hill reminds me more of an airport control tower than a shipping beacon!
Privately Owned Michigan Lighthouses
Mendota Lighthouse privately owned lighthouse in the Keweenaw Peninsula that has been fully restored. Site has an online tour and a weather station and web cam.
Granite Island Lighthouse privately owned lighthouse in the UP of Michigan 10 miles offshore in Lake Superior. Live weather and web cams you can view and wonderful restoration photo’s. A must see web site.
Jacobsville Lighthouse is privately owned in the Keweenaw peninsula of Michigan. See the families website on the lighthouse.
Organizations
Dedicated to the appreciation and preservation of our Life-Saving Service heritage, visit the all new website of The U.S. Life -Saving Service Heritage Association
US Lighthouse Society – The United States Lighthouse Society is a non-profit historical and educational organization incorporated to educate, inform, and entertain those who are interested in lighthouses, past and present.
Lightship Sailors web site for lightship history, heroes of the past, reunion information and much more.
For the most complete selection of lighthouse collectibles ever assembled, visit the Lighthouse Depot home page. Also, be sure to subscribe to the Lighthouse Digest. This is surely one of the most interesting magazines on the subject available.
Great Lakes Historical Society Founded in 1944 to record, preserve and interpret the maritime history of the Great Lakes. It is the oldest and largest organization exclusively devoted to telling the story of the “Inland Seas” of North America.
Association for Great Lakes Maritime HistoryAn international organization of museums, historical societies, libraries, archives, and individuals interested in preserving Great Lakes maritime history. The AGLMH holds an annual meeting, publishes a newsletter, and encourages research and the dissemination and exchange of information among members.
Other Useful Links
Terry Pepper has one of the most interesting lighthouse sites on the internet for the Western Great Lakes. Here you will find information about the Western lake lights and information about Fresnel lenses. This is a great site with a lot of information.
44 Ft Motor Life Boat Restoration Project has moved to a new site.
Publicly Accessible lighthouses in Michigan listing with phone numbers.
Lake Huron Lore Marine Society – To come
Lake Huron Maritime Society – To come
Marine Historical Society of Detroit – To come
Third Wave Films features a number of wonderful videos on nautical subjects, including the recently released Life-Saving Service documentary “Storm Warriers”.
Sumnerkimball.com is an organization that is raising funds through boat donations and boat sales to fund life saving service station restoration and education.
Learn about Lightships from Jerry Radlof’s home page, filled with history and present condition of many of America’s lightships.
Shore Village Museum is a wonderful museum of out Lighthouse Service and Life-Saving Service history. Be sure to check out their page, and say “Hi” to Ken Black when you stop by. Ken is the founder of the museum and one of the kindest and most knowledgeable supporters of lighthouse history and preservation.
National Lighthouse Center and Museum
U. S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office
The Long Island Genealogy page features wonderful information on the area including a United States Life-Saving Service History and Resource Page, and an area Lighthouse History and Resource Page.
Ken Laesser’s Coast Guard / Life-Saving Service page has a host of information on history of the services, photos, and more.
For hundreds of interesting Coast Guard, lighthouse and military articles, stories, poems, lies and more, visit Jack’s Joint.
Lightship “Frying Pan” is listed on both the New York State and Federal Registers of Historic Places, as it is one of 13 lightships remaining from more than 100 built. Learn the history and come visit this historic vessel.
Don’t forget Bill Younger’s Harbour Lights replicas. Bill and his staff make some of the finest replicas on the market, beautifully reproduced and a joy to collect. Also on their site is an Internet Site of Lighthouse Lings – a great resource for your lighthouse search.
Visit Bob and Sandra Shanklin’s site– The Lighthouse People –and accompany them on their cross country lighthouse trips. See our pages for their books Lighthouses of the Hawaiian Islands, and their List of All Existing U. S. Lighthouses.
Port Washington, WI. Lighthouse. Located in Port Washington is being fixed up due to a dedicated group of people. Plans for the lantern room were donated to them by the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy.
The Ultimate Guide to West Michigan Lighthouses book is available from Bugs Publishing. Also available on the web site are numerous lighthouse photos from the eastern side of Michigan as well as the UP.
If you have a lighthouse museum and wish to post the link here please e-mail us to have it posted.