Au Sable Light

Infobox_Lighthouse


caption = Au Sable Light Station
location = Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior
coordinates = coord|46|40|23|N|86|08|21.6|W|region:US_type:landmark
yearbuilt = 1874
yearlit = 1874
automated = 1958
yeardeactivated =
foundation = Wood pilings
construction = Brick, Italianate bracketing
shape = Conical
marking = White with black lantern
height = 87 ft (26.5 m)
elevation = 107 ft (32.6 m)
lens = Third-order Fresnel lens
currentlens = 300 mm
intensity =
range = 11 mi (17.7 km)
characteristic = Flashing white every 6 s
ARLHS = USA-022
USCG = 7-14565Infobox nrhp
name = Au Sable Point Light
nrhp_type =


caption =
location =
nearest_city =
lat_degrees =
lat_minutes =
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long_degrees =
long_minutes =
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area =
built =
architect = Orlando M. Poe
architecture =
added =
visitation_num =
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mpsub = Light Stations of the United States MPS
governing_body = U.S. Coast Guard

Au Sable Light is an active lighthouse in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior west of Grand Marais,Michigan off H-58. Until 1910, the light was called Big Sable Light, not to be confused with Big Sable Point Light near Ludington, Michigan on Lake Michigan. Also on Lake Michigan is the Little Sable Point Light south of Pentwater, Michigan.

History

The lighthouse tower and attached keepers' quarters were built in 1874. It was designed by Colonel Orlando Metcalfe Poe. The tower is a white brick conical tower with a black lantern. A red brick lightkeeper's house stands next to the lighthouse. It originally had a third-order Fresnel lens, which is now on display at the light station. [ [http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/miup.htm Lighthouse Digest, Michigan Upper Peninsula lights (University of North Carolina).] ] The lighthouse was automated in 1958 and is currently equipped with a 300-mm solar-powered light.

A wooden boathouse was added in 1875; the fog signal building was added in 1897; the keepers' quarters were converted to a duplex in 1909; and the steel oil house was raised in 1915. There is also a second brick Keepers house (1909), a kerosene storage shed (1895), two brick outhouses (1874/1909), a wooden woodshed and boathouse (1875), a brick cistern, and a two vehicle wood frame garage (1954). [ [http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/piro/sable.pdf Torres, Louis, Historic Structure Report, Pictured Rocks Au Sable Light Station (November, 1978).] ] Most of these buildings are still extant; only one outhouse remains standing. [ [http://lighthouse.boatnerd.com/gallery/Superior/ausable.htm Wobser, David, "Au Sable Point Light" Boatnerd.com.] ]

The lighthouse tower is open to the public in summer. The complex was maintained by the National Park Service, and the automated light continues to be operated by the United States Coast Guard. The National Park Service's stated goal is to continue to maintain the lighthouse complex to its 1909-10 appearance, during its first year of operation as a two-person Lighthouse keeper station. [ [http://www.cr.nps.gov/maritime/park/ausable.htm National Park Service Inventory of Historic Light Stations, Maritime History Project, Au Sable Light.] ]

The Light Station is part of the National Park Service's Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The Au Sable Light Station is on the National Register of Historic Places, #78000374. [ [http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pubs/LightLists/V7COMPLETE.PDF U.S. Coast Guard Light List, Volume 7, Great Lakes, p. 143, 2007.] ] [ [http://www.cr.nps.gov/maritime/park/ausable.htm National Park Service Inventory of Historic Light Stations, Maritime History Project, Au Sable Light.] ] [ [http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHMI.asp U.S. Coast Guard Michigan Light Stations, Au Sable Light] .]

To visit this light, take . From the Campground the lighthouse is a 1 1/2 mile walk on a sand trail. [ [http://www.terrypepper.com/Lights/superior/ausablept/ausablept.htm Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Au Sable Point Light.] ]

ee also

* Lighthouses in the United States

References

Further reading

* [http://www.michiganlighthouse.org/bibliography.html 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.
* 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.
* United States Coast Guard, "Aids to Navigation", (Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1945).
* [http://www.uscg.mil/History/weblighthouses/h_lhbib.asp 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.
* Wargin, Ed, "Legends of Light: A Michigan Lighthouse Portfolio" (Ann Arbor Media Group, 2006). ISBN 9781587262517.
* Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, "Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia" Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1550463993.

External links

* [http://marinas.com/browse/lighthouse/US/MI/1/A Aerial photos, Au Sable Light, marinas.com.]
* [http://www.lighthousecentral.com/lighthouse_gallery.php4?lighthouse=AuSable%20Point%20Lighthouse Au Sable Light. Photographs, History and Waypoints at Lighthouse Central.]
* [http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080520/SPECIAL01/80519001 Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses.]
* [http://www.exploringthenorth.com/ausable/ausable.html Exploring the North, Au Sable Point Light.]
* [http://www.lighthousecentral.com/lighthouse_gallery.php4?lighthouse=AuSable%20Point%20Lighthouse Lighthouse Central, Au Sable Point Lighthouse, "The Ultimate Guide to Upper Michigan Lighthouses" by Jerry Roach] (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - 2007).] ISBN 978-0-9747977-2-4.
* [http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=724 Lighthouse.com: Au Sable Point]
* [http://www.lighthousesrus.org/Maps/mapIt.htm?file=GL/Superior1.xml Interactive map of lighthouses in eastern Lake Superior, powered by Google.]
* [http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/miup.htm Lighthouse Digest, Michigan Upper Peninsula lights (University of North Carolina).]
* [http://www.michiganlights.com/ausablepointlh.htm Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Au Sable Light.]
* [http://www.michiganlighthouse.org/lighthouse_detail.php2.htm Michigan lighthouse fund, Au Sable Light.]
* National Park Service [http://www.nps.gov/piro/historyculture/ausablelightstation.htm , Au Sable Point Light Station web page.]
* National Park Service [http://www.cr.nps.gov/maritime/park/ausable.htm , Inventory of Historic Light Stations, Maritime History Project, Au Sable Light.]
* [http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=46.673139,-86.139239&spn=0.001807,0.003369&t=h&z=18&om=1 Satellite view, Au Sable Point Light by Google.]
* [http://www.terrypepper.com/Lights/superior/ausablept/ausablept.htm Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Au Sable Point Light.]
* [http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/piro/sable.pdf Torres, Louis, "Historic Structure Report, Pictured Rocks Au Sable Light Station" (November, 1978).]
* United States Coast Guard [http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHMI.asp 's complete list of Michigan lights, with photographs and descriptions, including Au Sable Point Light.]
* [http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pubs/LightLists/V7COMPLETE.PDF Volume 7, US Coast Guard Lightlist (PDF).]
* [http://lighthouse.boatnerd.com/gallery/Superior/ausable.htm Wobser, David, "Au Sable Point Light" Boatnerd.com.]