Big Sable Point Lighthouse (Ludington State Park, Ludington Michigan), photo by Michigan Nut.

I’ve featured Big Sable Point Lighthouse before on Michigan in Pictures, but most of you probably didn’t see that post. Besides, it was done on a day when the Great Lakes’ premier resource for lighthouse information, Terry Pepper’s Seeing the Light, was down! Terry’s Big Sable Point Light Station page begins:

In its report to Congress in 1865, the Lighthouse Board presented the case that “the interests of commerce demand that Grand Point Au Sable be suitably lighted” Congress responded favorably on July of the following year with an appropriation of $35,000 on July 28 of the following year. The State of Michigan responded by providing the Federal Government with fee deed to nine hundred and thirty-three acres for the station later that year.

Construction began in early 1867 with the arrival of Lighthouse Board and Army Corps of Engineers workers, who immediately began the construction of a dock at which to unload the necessary supplies for the project. Next, a temporary cofferdam was constructed to keep waster from entering the foundation, which consisted of tightly fitted cut stone blocks beginning a depth of six feet below grade and extending three feet above.

On this sturdy foundation, the skilled masons began to raise the tower. Constructed of cream city brick, the walls were laid five feet thick at the foundation, tapering to a thickness of two feet thick immediately below the gallery. Within the tower, a circular inner wall, eight feet in diameter supported the cast iron spiral staircase. On its vertical climb, the stairway passed through three landing areas.

Read on for the history of the Big Sable Light and see many more Michigan lighthouses on Michigan in Pictures.

See this photo bigger and in John’s jaw-dropping Michigan lighthouses slideshow. He says that it’s a two mile hike to see Big Sable, so bring a flashlight if you plan to see a sunset!