Granite Island (Michigan) Totally Explained

Everything about Granite Island Michigan totally explained

Granite Island is a 2 1/2 acre island in Lake Superior located about 12 miles northwest of Marquette in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan.
   The island is granite rock that rises nearly perpendicularly to 60 feet above the surface of Lake Superior, surrounded by deep water. The Native Americans called it to Na-Be-Quon Island. That apparently meant something like 'vessel'. They called a steam ship an "ishcoda nabequon." which was roughly translated as 'fire vessel.'
   On March 2, 1867, Congress appropriated $20,000 for construction of the lighthouse on the island. In 1868, spring brought the arrrive of the lighthouse tender "Haze", which landed a construction crew and building supplies. Flattening the top of the island to provide a foundation was difficult, and required blasting. Davits were installed, as there was originally no plan for a dock. After a lengthy delay, a fog signal was installed. Life on the island was difficult, and did entail loss of life.
   Because it was positioned near the busy shipping lanes of the mid-1800s, a lighthouse was built on Granite Island in 1868 by the U.S. Lighthouse Board and commissioned in 1869.
   The Lighthouse keeper's dwelling and the square tower attached to it are built of cut stone with white limestone decorations on the corners and windows.
   The Granite Island Light was operated by Lighthouse Keepers and assistant Keepers until the facility was automated in 1937 and the living quarters was abandoned. Aids to navigation consisted of a 4th order Fresnel lens and a fog bell tower. The focal height is 89 feet. At one time it had a red flash every 90 seconds.
   Modern navigation moved shipping lanes away from the island and the light, and farther out into Lake Superior, This tended to make the Coast Guard view it as "surplus," and it was put up for private sale. The sale in fact helped precipitate a later reaction by the U.S. Congress, which enacted a preference for selling such facilities to communities and charitable organizations under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, which was sponsored by Michigan Senator Carl Levin and passed in 2000. Nevertheless, this island's sale and its results have advocates.
   Granite Island and the lighthouse were purchased by Scott and Martine Holman in 1999 from the U.S. Coast Guard. The facilities underwent a three year restoration process at large expense, and which has inured to the public good. The house was completely gutted and rebuilt, with waste being boated out and materials bought in. This is a challenging place to reach and live upon -- they've to transport all of their water in, for example; composting toilets must be used, so not many visitors are welcomed. The web site, www.graniteisland.com, has live camera feeds, history, videos of the restoration process and photographs and discussion of its ecology and geology. The lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
   Although the island is privately owned, an automated aid to navigation on a steel tower is maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard. Granite Island Light is one of 149 lighthouses in Michigan. Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state. See Lighthouses in the United States.
   The highest recorded wind speed on the island was 143 miles per hour on January 18, 2003.

Additional reading

Bibliography on Michigan lighthouses.
Crompton, Samuel Willard & Michael J. Rhein, The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses (2002) ISBN 1592231020; ISBN 978-1592231027.
Hyde, Charles K., and Ann and John Mahan. The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995. ISBN 0814325548 ISBN 9780814325544.
Jones, Ray & Bruce Roberts, American Lighthouses (Globe Pequot, September 1, 1998, 1st Ed.) ISBN 0762703245; ISBN 978-0762703241.
Jones, Ray,The Lighthouse Encyclopedia, The Definitive Reference (Globe Pequot, January 1, 2004, 1st ed.) ISBN 0762727357; ISBN 978-0762727353.
LaFave, Michael (Mackinac Center), Privatization Shines (article on the general subject of privatization of lighthouses.
Noble, Dennis, Lighthouses & Keepers: U. S. Lighthouse Service and Its Legacy (Annapolis: U. S. Naval Institute Press, 1997). ISBN 1557506388; ISBN 9781557506382.
Oleszewski, Wes, Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
Penrod, John, Lighthouses of Michigan, (Berrien Center, Michigan: Penrod/Hiawatha, 1998) ISBN 9780942618785 ISBN 9781893624238.
Putnam, George R., Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1933).
Splake, T. Kilgore. Superior Land Lights. Battle Creek, MI: Angst Productions, 1984.
Stonehouse, Frederick. Marquette Shipwrecks. Marquette, MI: Harboridge Press, 1974.
United States Coast Guard, Aids to Navigation, (Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1945).
United States Coast Guard, Aids to Navigation Historical Bibliography.
Wagner, John L., Michigan Lighthouses: An Aerial Photographic Perspective, (East Lansing, Michigan: John L. Wagner, 1998) ISBN 1880311011 ISBN 9781880311011.
Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1550463993.

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