Cheboygan Crib Light

Cheboygan Crib Light
The light in 2001

Location	Cheboygan, Michigan
Coordinates	45°39.408′N 84°27.900′W / 45.656800°N 84.465000°W / 45.656800; -84.465000Coordinates: 45°39.408′N 84°27.900′W / 45.656800°N 84.465000°W / 45.656800; -84.465000
Year first constructed	1884
Year first lit	1884
Foundation	oak ring
Construction	cast iron
Tower shape	Octagonal and frustum of a cone
Markings / pattern	White tower with red lantern and trim
Height	25 feet (7.6 m)^[1]
Focal height	35 feet (11 m)^[2]
Original lens	Fourth-order Fresnel lens
Current lens	Fourth-order Fresnel lens^[3]
Range	10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi)
Characteristic	Fl Red, 4 seconds^[4]
ARLHS number	USA-160^[5]^[6]
USCG number	7-11800

The Cheboygan Crib Light is a light that marks the west pier head of the mouth of the Cheboygan River into Lake Huron. The pier head, in the center of the municipality of Cheboygan, is located at the north or lake end of Huron Street, and is one of the centerpieces of Cheboygan's Gordon Turner Park.^[7]

History

1884-1920: manned light

The Crib Light is called a "light" rather than a "lighthouse" because it does not contain a structure in which a keeper lived. The Light was originally built in Lake Huron in 1884 on a "crib", an artificial-island landfill,^[8] more than 2,000 feet (610 m) from the Cheboygan shore. It is assumed that the keeper lived in Cheboygan; this would have required him to boat daily to the crib, despite weather conditions, to maintain the kerosene-fired light. This was hazardous duty, and in due course davits were installed on the Crib Light; this enabled a boat making dock at the crib to be raised, more easily unloaded, and be protected from the waves.^[9]

In 1901 this station was painted white to increase its visibility as a daymark.

In 1903 Two years later, the wooden superstructure was removed and replaced with sturdier concrete. Iron railings were also installed to aid with safety; the railing was replaced after a schooner ran into the station.

In 1906 a fog bell was installed to help prevent such collisions. In 1911 an automated fog bell was installed, sounding a characteristic single stroke every ten seconds.^[9]

In the 1920s, the light was automated. When last Lighthouse keeper left in 1929, it quickly degraded. "The light earned the nickname 'The Dummy'” from the locals."^[10]

In 1903, the existing wooden structure was torn down to a depth of 12 inches (300 mm) into the water and a new sturdier concrete steel structure was erected. In 1906, the rebuilt light was severely damaged when a schooner hit it. In 1911 an automated fog bell was installed, sounding a characteristic single stroke every ten seconds.^[9]

1920-present: automated light

In 1920, the Lighthouse Service oversaw the automation of the Crib Light. In the Crib Light's new incarnation, kerosene was no longer necessary; instead, a traveling crew periodically delivered tanks of the flammable gas acetylene. A reliable pilot light burned day and night. When the sun set, the resulting drop in temperature would open a precision valve and release a flow of acetylene against the pilot light, causing the light to shine.

In the second half of the 20th century, the invention of radar and other electronic aids to navigation began to render many Great Lakes navigational light towers redundant. The Crib Light was considered by the Coast Guard to be "surplus" property. In 1984, the Crib Light tower was removed from its crib and placed on its current base located on the Gordon Turner Park pier head.^[9]^[11]^[12]

As noted by a Coast Guard researcher:

The light earned the nickname “The Dummy” from the locals. When locals learned of the Coast Guard’s plans to demolish the site, an agreement was made to donate the light to the city of Cheboygan. The light was moved to the West Breakwall in the Gordon Turner Park. Restoration work has been done on the tower. The grounds are open to the public.^[13]

The Cheboygan Crib Light is now maintained by the municipality of Cheboygan; the light itself, which is now powered by electricity, is maintained by a local support group. The light tower is considered by many to be a symbol of Cheboygan. In 2003, the municipality succeeded in clearing its title to the light and erasing its status as "surplus" property nominally under the ownership of the federal General Services Administration.^[14]

Location

The light is in Gordon Turner Park, which is located north of U.S. Highway 23 in Cheboygan, just west of the Cheboygan River. The park is at the end of Huron Street for less than 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the highway. The park's boardwalk leads to the Cheboygan River and the light. The light may also been viewed from eastbound lighthouse cruises offered by Shepler's Ferry out of Mackinaw City.^[15]^[16]

It is not lighted at this time. Visitors to Gordon Turner Park can view and walk around the light at the end of Water Street in Cheboygan.^[15] A few blocks upriver is the Cheboygan River Front Range Light.^[13]

References

↑ Pepper, Terry. "Database of Tower Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com.
↑ Pepper, Terry. "Database of Focal Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com.
↑ National Park Service, Maritime Heritage Project, Inventory of Lights, Cheboygan Crib Light. Archived July 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.
↑ Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, Cheboygan Crib (Lake Huron) Light ARLHS USA-160
↑ Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society, World List of Lights.
↑ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Eastern Lower Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
↑ Michigan Lighthouse Fund, Cheboygan Crib Light. Archived January 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
1 2 3 4 Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Cheboygan Crib Light. Archived May 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
↑ "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Michigan". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
↑ Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Cheboygan Crib Light.
↑ Lighthouse Central, Cheboygan Crib light The Ultimate Guide to East Michigan Lighthouses by Jerry Roach (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - July 2006). ISBN 0-9747977-1-5; ISBN 978-0-9747977-1-7.
1 2 Wobser, David, Cheboygan Crib Light, boatnerd.com. Archived May 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Sanderson, Dan, Traverse City Record Eagle, "City will finally own light; Most thought they already did own it" July 27, 2003.
1 2 Anderson, Kraig, Lighthouse Friends, Cheboygan Crib Light. Archived May 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
↑ "Sheplers Ferry, Lighthouse Cruises.".

External links

Vintage image of the light (on its crib and before being moved)

Lighthouses in Michigan

Northern Upper Peninsula	Au Sable Big Bay Point Copper Harbor Copper Harbor Front Range Crisp Point Eagle Harbor Eagle Harbor Range Lights Eagle River Fourteen Mile Point Grand Island East Channel Grand Island Harbor Rear Range Grand Island North Grand Marais Range Lights Granite Island Gull Rock Huron Island Isle Royale Manitou Island Marquette Breakwater Outer Marquette Harbor Mendota (Bete Grise) Munising Front Range Munising Rear Range Ontonagon Ontonagon Harbor West Breakwater Portage River (Jacobsville) Passage Island Rock Harbor Rock of Ages Sand Hills Sand Point Light (Baraga) St. Martin Island Stannard Rock Thunder Bay Island Whitefish Point

Southern Upper Peninsula	DeTour Reef Lansing Shoals Manistique East Breakwater Martin Reef Menominee Pier Minneapolis Shoal Naubinway Island Peninsula Point Poverty Island Sand Point Seul Choix Squaw Island St. Martin Island

St. Mary's River	Frying Pan Island Pipe Island Point Iroquois Round Island Light (St. Mary's River) Six Mile Point Range Rear Winter Point Range Front

Portage River/Ship Canal	Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Keweenaw Waterway Upper Entrance Portage Lake Rouleau Point Range Front and Rear Lights

Straits of Mackinac	Bois Blanc McGulpin Point Old Mackinac Point Round Island Round Island Passage St. Helena Island

Western Lower Peninsula	Beaver Island Harbor Beaver Island Head Big Sable Point Cedar River Charlevoix Charlevoix South Pier Frankfort Frankfort South Range Grand Haven North Pierhead Grand Haven South Pierhead Entrance Grand Haven South Pierhead Inner Grand Traverse Grays Reef Holland Harbor Ile Aux Galets Little Sable Point Little Traverse Ludington Manistee Pierhead Manning Memorial Mission Point Mission Point (1933) Muskegon Breakwater Muskegon Pier North Manitou Shoal Pentwater North Pierhead Pentwater South Pierhead Point Betsie Portage Lake South Fox Island South Haven South Manitou Island St. Joseph North Pier Inner St. Joseph North Pier Outer South Manitou Island Waugoshance White River White Shoal

Eastern Lower Peninsula	Alpena Caseville Harbor Charity Island Cheboygan Crib Cheboygan River Front Range DeTour Reef Detroit River Fort Gratiot Forty Mile Point Fourteen Foot Shoal Gibraltar Gravelly Shoal Harbor Beach Lake St. Clair Mariners Memorial Middle Island Miller Memorial New Presque Isle Old Presque Isle Peche Island Rear Range Poe Reef Pointe aux Barques Port Austin Port Sanilac Saginaw Bay Saginaw River Rear Range Spectacle Reef St. Clair Flats Front and Rear Range Light Sturgeon Point Tawas Point Thunder Bay Island Tri-Centennial Light of Detroit William Livingstone Memorial Windmill Point

Historical (lost) lights	Au Sable North Pierhead Belle Isle Clinton River Ecorse Ecorse Range Rear Gibraltar Grassy Island Grassy Island North Channel Range Lights Grassy Island South Channel Range Lights Grosse Ile North Channel Range Lights Grosse Ile South Channel Range Lights Harwood Point East Range Front Kalamazoo River Mama Juda Mama Juda Range Front Manistee Main Middle Lake George Monroe Pier New Buffalo North Manitou Island Saginaw Bay Sand Beach North Entrance East Squaw Point St. Mary's River Lower Range Front Vidal Shoals Channel Range Front and Rear Lights Windmill Point Range Front and Rear Lights

Related	Lightship Huron List of lifesaving stations in Michigan

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