Port Huron in St. Clair County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Fort Gratiot Light

By Jenn Wintermantel, March 26, 2011

1. Fort Gratiot Light Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

This lighthouse, oldest in Michigan, was built in 1829 to replace a tower destroyed by a storm. Lucius Lyon, the builder, was Deputy Surveyor General of the Northwest Territory and later a United States senator from Michigan. In the 1860s workers extended the tower to its present height of 86 feet. The light, automated in 1933, continues to guide shipping on Lake Huron into the narrow and swift-flowing Saint Clair River.

Erected 1971. (Marker Number S0332.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Michigan Historical Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1829.

Location. 43° 0.341′ N, 82° 25.421′ W. Marker is in Port Huron, Michigan, in St. Clair County. Marker can be reached from Conger Street. Located behind the fence of a Coast Guard Base. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Port Huron MI 48060, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Seeing the Light (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); a different marker also named Fort Gratiot Light

By Jenn Wintermantel, March 26, 2011

2. Fort Gratiot Light Marker

Click or scan to see
this page online

(about 500 feet away); The Storm (about 500 feet away); Learning from Lake Huron (about 500 feet away); Sending a Signal (about 500 feet away); Keepers Duties (about 500 feet away); Fort Saint Joseph (approx. 0.3 miles away); Great Storm of 1913 and Sailors Memorial (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Port Huron.

Also see . . . Fort Gratiot Lighthouse - Lighthouses of the Great Lakes. (Submitted on March 28, 2011, by Bill Pfingsten of Bel Air, Maryland.)

Fort Gratiot Light image. Click for full size.

By Mike Wintermantel, March 26, 2011

3. Fort Gratiot Light

By US Coast Guard

4. Fort Gratiot Light

In Port Huron, Michigan is listed on the US National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

Credits. This page was last revised on September 26, 2020. It was originally submitted on March 27, 2011. This page has been viewed 585 times since then and 5 times this year. Last updated on September 26, 2020, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 27, 2011, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 4. submitted on April 15, 2011, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.