U.S. Lighthouse Supply Depot

U.S. Lighthouse Supply Depot. . A U.S. lighthouse supply depot was built at St. Joseph in 1893. For a quarter century, this depot equipped all of Lake Michigan's lights with materials ranging from lenses to lamp oil. Operations of the St. Joseph Depot were transferred to Milwaukee in 1917. In later years, the site housed branches of the military. , , Following this service, the site operated as a restaurant in the 1990s. Two buildings, the lens repair shop and workers barracks, were torn down. A main storage structure and an officers' residence remain. In 2003, the St. Joseph River Yacht Club acquired the site. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it survives as one of only two historic Lighthouse Depots in Michigan. , , (Upper Left Photo Caption) , Early 1900s view of the U.S. Lighthouse Depot showing the primary storage building (left), officer's living quarters (right), and lighthouse supply ship. , Photo: National Archives , , (Upper Right Photo Caption) , The St. Joseph River Yacht Club restored the exterior to the depot keeper's dwelling in 2007, in cooperation with the State Historic Preservation Office of Michigan. , Photo: Alden J. Ho Photography , , (Lower Photo Caption) , The U.S. Naval Reserve operated at the depot site from 1918-1950.