Sand Hills Light

Infobox_Lighthouse


caption = Sand Hills Lighthouse
location = Ahmeek, Michigan
coordinates = coord|47|23|31|N|88|22|13.5|W|region:US_type:landmark
yearlit = 1919
automated =
yeardeactivated =
foundation =
construction = Yellow brick
shape = Square
height = Tower - convert|91|ft|m [ [http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/lists/towers.htm Terry Pepper, database on heights and focal planes.] ]
elevation = Focal plane - convert|93|ft|m
marking = natural with black lantern and trim
lens = Fourth order Fresnel lens with bullseye [ [http://www.exploringthenorth.com/sandhills/inn.html Sand Hills Light Bed and Breakfast, Exploring the North.] ]
currentlens = none
range = 18 miles [ [http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/superior/sandhills/sandhills.htm Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Sand Hills Light] , "but compare" [http://lighthouse.boatnerd.com/gallery/Superior/sandhills.htm Wobser, David & Colt, Edin, Sand Hills Lighthouse, boatnerd.com which opinions it was 11 miles originally.] ]
characteristic =

Sand Hills is a formerly active lighthouse on the shore of Lake Superior converted into a bed and breakfast. It is located in Ahmeek in Keweenaw County Michigan in the Keweenaw Peninsula, which is the northern part of the Upper Peninsula. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Many years after the decommissioning of the Eagle River Light, Sand Hills Lighthouse was commissioned in 1917, as a response to a number of instances of ships that had run aground on the nearby "Sawtooth" reef in the previous few years.

The Lighthouse was completed in May 1919 and was in service for 20 years as a manned lighthousecomplete with 3 keepers. [ [http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/superior/sandhills/sandhills.htm Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Sand Hills Light.] ]

In 1939, the Coast Guard assumed responsibility for the Lighthouse and automatedits use, eliminating the need for keepers.

In 1942, it was converted to a wartime Coast Guard training facility, housing and schooling roughly 200 trainees at a time. In 1943 it was closed as a training location and reverted to being simply a lighthouse.

It continued as an active lighthouse until 1954, when it was decommissioned, in part due to improvements in weather forecasting and the adoption of radar.

It stayed empty and idle through the next few years, finally being liquidated and sold at public auction in 1958 for $26,000 to H. Donald Bliss, an insurance agent from the Detroit area.

In 1961, it was sold again to Bill Frabotta, a Detroit photographer and artist who used thefog station as a summer cottage. In 1992, Mr. Frabotta began a comprehensive 3 year rebuilding project, and along with his wife, Mary, converted the entire facility into a premier Bed and Breakfast Inn. [ [http://www.sandhillslighthouseinn.com/ Sand Hills Lighthouse Inn.] ]

The original fourth order Fresnel lens is on display at Dossin Great Lakes Museum in Detroit. [ [http://lighthouse.cc/shorevillage/299/299-2.html Dossin Great Lakes Museum and its Fresnel lens.] ] However a similar lens is on display in the lighthouse. The original stucco fog signal building was restored in 2001. [ [http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/miup.htm Lighthouse Digest, Michigan Upper Peninsula lights -- Sand Hills Light (University of North Carolina).] ]

External links

* [http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080520/SPECIAL01/80519001 Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses.]
* [http://www.exploringthenorth.com/sandhills/inn.html Sand Hills Light Bed and Breakfast, Exploring the North.]
* [http://www.lighthousesrus.org/Superior2.htm Interactive map of lighthouses in central Lake Superior.]
* [http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/miup.htm Lighthouse Digest, Michigan Upper Peninsula lights -- Sand Hills Light (University of North Carolina).]
* [http://www.michiganlights.com/sandhillslh.htm Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Sand Hills Light.]
* [http://www.michigan.org/property/Detail.aspx?p=G7436 Michigan lighthouse fund, Sand Hills Light.]
* National Park Service [http://www.nps.gov/history/maritime/light/sandhill.htm National Maritime Heritage, Inventory of Historic Lighthouses, Sand Hills Light.]
* [http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/superior/sandhills/sandhills.htm Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Sand Hills Light.]
* United States Coast Guard's [http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHMI.asp complete list of Michigan lights, with photographs and descriptions, including Sand Hills Light.]
* [http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pubs/LightLists/V7COMPLETE.PDF Volume 7, US Coast Guard Lightlist (PDF).]
* [http://lighthouse.boatnerd.com/gallery/Superior/sandhills.htm Wobser, David & Colt, Edin, Sand Hills Lighthouse, boatnerd.com.]

ee also

* Lighthouses in the United States

Further reading

* [http://www.michiganlighthouse.org/bibliography.html Bibliography on Michigan lighthouses.]
* 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.
* 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.
*
*
* Splake, T. Kilgore. "Superior Land Lights". Battle Creek, MI: Angst Productions, 1984.
* 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.

Notes