White River Main Light, near Whitehall, Michigan
Posted by: 
KG1960
N 43° 22.488 W 086° 25.452
16T E 546646 N 4802598
A lighthouse at the mouth of White Lake into Lake Michigan.
Waymark Code: WM10E7
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 12/02/2006
Views: 95
This lighthouse is at the mouth of White Lake into Lake Michigan. The town of Whitehall, MI, is on the other end of White Lake and is the closest town.
This shore light was built in 1875, some five years after the channel was cut between Lake Michigan and White Lake. The lighthouse replaced a pier light that had been built in 1871. A U.S. Life Saving Service station was establish across the channel in the same year as the lighthouse.
This lighthouse was decommissioned in 1960 and the original lens, 4th order Fresnel, was removed by the Coast Guard. In 1966 Fruitland Township bought the property and opened a museum in 1970. The Coast Guard returned the lens in 1972, and the lens is now on display in the museum along with other Great Lakes maritime artifacts.
The station is a 1-1/2 story yellow brick dwelling with an octagonal tower attached to one corner. The 10-sided black iron lantern is now empty. The channel to White Lake is now marked simply by lights on top of steel poles at the end of the piers.
It is located off of the end of Murry Road off of South Shore Drive that goes around White Lake from Whitehall, Michigan.
The museum is open in the summer, Tuesday-Friday, 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., and weekends noon to 6:00 p.m. Visitors can climb the spiral cast iron stairs in the light tower for a great view of Lake Michigan.
Coastal Lighthouse: Lighthouse
Range Lights: Not listed
LIGHTHOUSE CHALLENGE VISIT: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
Please include your GPS in the photo to log a Waypoint in this category.