East Tawas in Iosco County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Double Dwelling
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 24, 2018
1. Double Dwelling Marker
It is respectfully requested that the Board take under consideration the advisability of erecting a set of quarters at this station for the assistant keeper.
Major Thomas Handbury
Corps of Engineers to Light-House Board
December 1899
Over the next twenty years, other officials repeated Handbury's recommendation, but assistant keepers at Tawas continued living in “temporary quarters little better than shacks.” In 1921 the Lighthouse Service moved a house to this site from the Ecorse Light Station on the Detroit River. It was converted to a two-family residence.
Lightkeepers and Coast Guard personnel used the double dwelling until 1993. It was removed in 2002.
Erected by Michigan History Center and Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Communications • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Lighthouses series list.
Location. 44° 15.239′ N, 83° 26.959′ W. Marker is in East Tawas, Michigan, in Iosco County. Marker can be reached from Tawas Beach Road, 3˝ miles east of U.S. 23. Marker is located inside Tawas Point
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Tawas Point Light Station (here, next to this marker); Tawas Lighthouse (a few steps from this marker); A New Light on the Horizon (within shouting distance of this marker); Preserving the Light (within shouting distance of this marker); The Changing Shape of Tawas Point (within shouting distance of this marker); Oil House (within shouting distance of this marker); Earl T. O’Loughlin (approx. 2.6 miles away); East Tawas Veterans Memorial (approx. 2.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in East Tawas.
More about this marker. Marker is a large composite plaque, mounted horizontally, on a waist-high post.
Also see . . . Tawas Point Lighthouse. (This link presents a photo of the lighthouse before removal of the assistant's dwelling.) The State of Michigan acquired the lighthouse from the Coast Guard in 2002, and that same year Building Restoration Inc. of Kalamazoo was contracted to install a metal shingle roof on the dwelling and paint the tower. Along with this work, an old garage next to the lighthouse was remodeled to
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 24, 2018
2. Double Dwelling Marker (wide view)
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 24, 2018
3. Double Dwelling Marker (wide view; Tawas Point Light Station in background)
Credits. This page was last revised on July 29, 2021. It was originally submitted on September 29, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 249 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 1, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
