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St. Joseph Pier, MichiganHarbour
Lights Open Edition #434 In the warm and comforting home of
Captain Pickering, lanterns were lighted and hung from the windows,
casting a flickering glow towards the lapping waters of Lake Michigan.
Passing ships would spot the beacons, and then turn inland to head up the
St. Joseph River. This rudimentary, yet beneficial illumination was the
foundation for the first official light station at St. Joseph, also the
first on Lake Michigan. Established
1832, Pickering’s lanterns lighted the way for vessels until 1859, when
the first federally funded lighthouse was constructed on the hill above
the harbor. Although the sentinel served mariners well over its
forty-seven years of service, a new pier light replaced it. The old
decommissioned structure served as headquarters for the local American Red
Cross until 1954, when it was sold to the City of St. Joseph and
demolished to create additional parking space. The new cast
iron pier light, illuminated in 1906 sported a Fifth Order Fresnel lens
and stood a mere 35-feet, yet effectively served the dual purpose of
warning ships off the pier, while pointing the way to the river’s
entrance. A year later,
officials added a second, inner light that worked in tandem with its
little sister. At 57-feet tall, the Fourth Order Fresnel lens was easily
spotted by navigators, who used the two beacons as a guide to accurately
line-up with the channel. The elevated catwalk, joining the lighthouses to each other and the shore, assists keepers in staying dry and on their feet during gale winds and choppy water conditions. In the colder months, ice shrouds the pier in a wintry coat.
Other St. Joseph MI Lighthouses by Harbour Lights
[site/styles/BottomPage.htm] Photography by Paul
L. Brady © Harbour Lights |
