.jpg) Mission Point Light in October 2020 | |
 | |
| Location | Peninsula Township, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 44°59′28.7″N 85°28′46.1″W / 44.991306°N 85.479472°W[citation needed] |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1870 |
| Construction | Wood |
| Height | 36 feet (11 m) |
| Shape | Square tower on dwelling |
| Markings | White with black trim |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1870 |
| Deactivated | 1933 |
| Focal height | 47 feet (14 m) |
| Lens | Fifth order Fresnel lens |
| Range | 8.7 nautical miles; 16 kilometres (10 mi)[citation needed] |
| Characteristic | Flashing W 6 seconds.[1] |
| Designated | October 15, 1992 |
Mission Point Light is a lighthouse located in the U.S. state of Michigan at the end of Old Mission Point, a peninsula jutting into Grand Traverse Bay 17 miles (27 km) north of Traverse City. When it was built in 1870, it was an exact copy of the Mama Juda Light[2] (now destroyed), which was built on the Detroit River in 1866.[3]
The foundation is natural and emplaced. The wooden structure is painted white with black trim. The square tower is attached to a dwelling.[4]
A fixed white Fifth Order Fresnel lens was installed. The building was only one and one half stories tall. However, its placement on a sand bank 14 feet above the lake's surface created a lens focal plane of 47 feet (14 m). It was visible from 13 miles (21 km)[citation needed] at sea. Maintaining the dune and protecting it and the lighthouse from the deleterious effects of wave action has been a constant struggle.[5]
For 67 years the light served to warn mariners about the shoals off the point. However, new techniques in offshore construction and the automation of lighthouse illumination made it possible to build a navigation aid on the shoal itself. In 1938, work began on a pier for the new light in 19 feet (5.8 m) of water, about 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of Mission Point. The light ran on batteries. It was on a 36-foot (11 m) tall tower, and its focal plane of 52 feet (16 m) help make it visible for 13 miles (21 km). It had a 30-second dwell time between flashes, in order to conserve power.[5]
Famously, the lighthouse stands a few hundred yards south of the 45th parallel north, halfway between the North Pole and the Equator. The lighthouse was deactivated in 1933 and purchased by the State of Michigan.[6] There are a pair of signs that denote its location on the parallel,[7] and it is one of 29 places (six are in Michigan) in the U.S.A. where such signs are known to exist.[8]
- ^ Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.
- ^ "Lighthouse depot, Mama Juda Light". Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
- ^ "Biggs, Jerry, Mission to Mama, Lighthouse Digest, 10/2000". Archived from the original on 2003-07-10. Retrieved 2004-02-28.
- ^ "NPS Inventory of Historic Light Stations". Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2004-04-19.
- ^ a b Terry Pepper, Mission Point lighthouse at Seeing the Light.
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Western Lower Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- ^ Photographs, Old Mission 45th Parallel signs.
- ^ List and map of 45th Parallel markers, with links to pictures (accessed 2007-12-17).