Frankfort Light

Frankfort Light
Frankfort North Breakwater Lighthouse.

Location	Frankfort, Michigan
Coordinates	44°37′50″N 86°15′08″W / 44.6306°N 86.2522°W / 44.6306; -86.2522Coordinates: 44°37′50″N 86°15′08″W / 44.6306°N 86.2522°W / 44.6306; -86.2522
Year first lit	1873
Foundation	Two-story metal over breakwater
Construction	Steel clad frame
Tower shape	Pyramidal tower
Markings / pattern	White with Black markings, Parapet and Lantern
Height	Tower - 67 feet (20 m)
Focal height	Focal plane - 72 feet (22 m)
Original lens	5th order Fresnel lens
Current lens	4th order Fresnel lens
Range	16 nautical miles (30 km; 18 mi)^[1]
ARLHS number	USA-308
USCG number	7-18

Frankfort North Breakwater Light
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nearest city	Frankfort, Michigan
Area	less than one acre
MPS	Light Stations of the United States MPS
NRHP Reference #	05000983^[2]
Added to NRHP	September 6, 2005

The Frankfort Light is a lighthouse located on the north breakwater in the harbor in Frankfort, Michigan. The current light was constructed in 1912 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

History

The harbor at Frankfort was first dredged in 1859.^[3] A series of improvements were begun in 1867, with piers completed in 1873. The original Frankfort North Breakwater lighthouse, an enclosed timber-framed pyramid beacon, was built in 1873 at the end of this long wooden pier with an elevated catwalk which led to the shore; the light was first lit on October 15, 1873. A fog signal was added in 1893.

In 1912, a new square steel pyramidal tower was constructed on the North Pier.^[3] The light was electrified in 1919. In the 1920s, construction began on a pair of concrete breakwaters at the harbor entrance. Construction was complete by the early 1930s. With the earlier piers now rendered obsolete, plans were made to shorten them. In 1932,^[4] the 1912 lighthouse was removed from the north pier and relocated at the head of the north breakwater. The original pyramid style lighthouse was increased in size by placing it on top of a new two-story addition.

In 2010, the US Coast Guard excessed the lighthouse, and in 2011 ownership was transferred to the city of Frankfort.^[4]

Description

The current breakwater light in Frankfort is located at the head of the north breakwater. It is a square steel pyramidal tower; the original 1912 lighthouse stands 44 feet (13 m) tall. The light is placed atop a 25-foot (7.6 m) tall square steel base. The cast iron lantern room, surrounded by a gallery, originally contained a fifth order Fresnel lens that was upgraded to a fourth order Fresnel lens. Other structures associated with the light include a radio beacon and a United States Coast Guard station.^[5]

Notes

↑ Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.
↑ Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
1 2 Terry Pepper. "Frankfort North Breakwater Light". Seeing the Light. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
1 2 "Frankfort North Breakwater, MI". Lighthouse Friends. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
↑ "Frankfort North Breakwater Lighthouse". Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy. Retrieved January 1, 2014.

External links

U.S. Coast Guard Archive Photo of original light

Aerial photos, Frankfort Lighthouse, marinas.com.
Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses.
Interactive map of Lights in Northern Lake Michigan, mapped by Google.
Lighthouse Central, Photographs, History, Directions and Way points for Franfort Light, The Ultimate Guide to West Michigan Lighthouses by Jerry Roach (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - 2005). ISBN 0-9747977-0-7.
Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Western Lower Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act FACT SHEET (March 7, 2005).
Map of Michigan Lighthouses in PDF Format.
National Park Service, Maritime Heritage Project, Inventory of Historic Lighthouses, Frankfort North Breakwater Lighthouse.
"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Michigan". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.
Wobser, David, Frankfort Breakwater Light, boatnerd.com.

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

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

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Frankfort Light

History

Description

Notes

Further reading

External links