United States lightship Huron (LV-103) - Port Huron, MI
N 42° 59.364 W 082° 25.607
17T E 383684 N 4760625
The Huron is a former lightship serving as a museum moored in Pine Grove Park in Port Huron, Michigan.
Waymark Code: WM175GE
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 12/17/2022
Views: 1
From the State of Michigan historical marker at the museum:
"Commissioned in 1921, the Huron began service as a relief vessel for other Great Lakes lightships. She is ninety-seven feet long, twenty-four feet in beam, and carried a crew of eleven. On clear nights her beacon could be seen for fourteen miles. After serving in northern Lake Michigan, the Huron was assigned to the Corsica Shoals in 1935. These shallow waters, six miles north of Port Huron, were the scene of frequent groundings by lake freighters in the late nineteenth century. A lightship station had been established there in 1893, since the manned ships were more reliable than lighted buoys. After 1940 the Huron was the only lightship on the Great Lakes. Retired from Coast Guard Service in 1970, she was presented to the City of Port Huron in 1971."
From the
Port Huron Museum website:
Lightships are floating lighthouses that are anchored in areas where it was too deep, expensive, or impractical to construct a lighthouse. Lightships displayed a light at the top of a mast and, in areas of fog, also sounded a fog signal and radio beacon. The fog signals used over the years consisted of bells, whistles, trumpets, sirens, and horns. Early fog horns were powered by steam and later by air compressors. The
HURON Lightship sounded her fog horn signal in 3 second blasts every 30 seconds and was known locally as “Old B.O.” because of the familiar sound her horn made.
The
HURON Lightship was the last operating lightship on the Great Lakes, and served for over 50 years when she was retired in 1970. For 36 of those years, she was stationed at Corsica Shoals, a sandy area 6 miles north of Port Huron. She was permanently moored in sand, along the banks of the St. Clair River in scenic Pine Grove Park, Port Huron, MI. There is an extensive collection of artifacts, including many model ships, as well as a live camera feed of the bottom of the river, taken off a camera positioned at the bow. It was dedicated in 1990 as a National Historic Landmark.
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