Commissioned in 1921, the Huron began service as a relief vessel for other Great Lakes lightships. She is ninety-seven feet long, twenty-four feet in beam, and carried a crew of eleven. On clear nights her beacon could be seen for fourteen miles. . . . — — Map (db m41197) HM
This is the Fort Gratiot Station. It welcomed immigrants, settlers, military and other travelers to Port Huron during the late 19th century. The Grand Trunk Railway built this depot in 1858 and launched daily passenger service to Detroit the . . . — — Map (db m76020) HM
People first crossed the St. Clair River using logs, rafts and canoes. Steam-powered ferries began carrying freight and people in the 1840s. The river current pushed tethered swing ferries from shore to shore. Later other ferries were used, and . . . — — Map (db m76014) HM
This boulder and tablet
were placed here by
The Department of Michigan
Woman's Relief Corps
in memory of and dedicated to
The Civil War Veterans.
1861 - 1865
"They are sleeping in the valleys,
They are sleeping 'neath the . . . — — Map (db m76102) WM
October 6, 1988
This structure, which has served as
the Port Huron, Michigan Customhouse since
1874, was dedicated as a Historic Bicentennial
Customhouse in honor and recognition
of U.S. Customs steadfast and vigilant
service to the . . . — — Map (db m76103) HM
Thomas Alva Edison was seven years old in 1854 when he and his family moved to Port Huron. They moved into a house on the Fort Gratiot Military Reservation, a short distance south of here. This is where young "Al" conducted his first experiments . . . — — Map (db m76049) HM
On this site stood
Fort Gratiot
Built 1814 by
Capt. Charles Gratiot
Abandoned 1979
Erected by Ottawawa Chapter
Daughters of the American Revolution
1914 — — Map (db m197704) HM
In 1825, A lighthouse was established near the mouth of the St. Clair River, at the southern end of Lake Huron. It sat just north of Fort Gratiot, a military outpost that would give the lighthouse its name. That light, of poor construction and . . . — — Map (db m76077) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m156750) HM
Built near here in 1686 by the French explorer Duluth, this fort was the second white settlement in lower Michigan. This post guarded the upper end of the vital waterway joining Lake Erie and Lake Huron. Designed to bar English traders from the . . . — — Map (db m41194) HM
[Side A]
On November 7-10, 1913, two major storms collided over the Great Lakes. This created hurricane like winds that lasted over 16 hours, producing waves over forty feet tall. As the storm intensified, temperatures dropped below . . . — — Map (db m76068) HM
The Harrington Hotel opened amid much fanfare in 1896.
A unique blend of Romanesque, Classical and Queen Anne architecture, the hotel thrived for many years. As business declined due to the popularity of automobile travel, expressways and . . . — — Map (db m76104) HM
Many people coming to the United States from other lands entered through this depot. By 1881, more than 77,000 immigrants first stepped foot on American soil here. Port Huron folks gathered here to see and hear the new arrivals, fascinated by . . . — — Map (db m79067) HM
This tablet marks the intersection of the eastern line of the Indian Reservation surveyed in 1810 provided by the treaty made Nov. 17, 1807 between the U.S. Government and the Chippewa, Ottawa, Pottawattamie [sic], and Wyandotte Indians with the . . . — — Map (db m76101) HM
Daily Duties of a Keeper......
Hand carry fuel up to the lantern room and fueling the lamp.
Trimming the wicks (later, replacing the mantles and pumping up the oil vaporizer).
Regularly cleaning and polishing (with jeweler's . . . — — Map (db m76100) HM
Lake Huron's basin was formed by glacier movement over 20,000 years ago. The lake was created when melting ice filled the basin gouged by the glaciers. Lake Huron took its present shape around 3,000 years ago.
Lake Huron is the second largest . . . — — Map (db m76081) HM
The Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada opened the first track between here and Detroit in 1859. As years passed, other railroads reached Port Huron. A line to Flint opened in 1871. Another extended into the Thumb in 1879.
In 1886, the Port . . . — — Map (db m76046) HM
(Side A)
This congregation dates from 1849, when people worshipped in log barracks within Fort Gratiot. Known as the Mission of Fort Gratiot, it was served by circuit riders until 1859 when the Reverend Samuel Clemens began his tenure. The . . . — — Map (db m41198) HM
Archaeologists found evidence of a native village (circa 1000 A.D.) located one block north of where you are standing. These prehistoric people fished the waters of Lake Huron and the St. Clair River, hunted game and gathered foods in nearby . . . — — Map (db m76016) HM
In 1902 the city of Port Huron secured money from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to erect a municipal library. Two years later, this grand, Beaux-Arts-style building was completed at a cost of $45,000. Chicago architects Patton and Miller . . . — — Map (db m76105) HM
Evolution of Lighting the Way
It has long been documented that the first shoreline lights were wood burning fires set on hillsides. Later, these wood fires were moved to the top of man-made towers. Wood however proved to be inefficient, as . . . — — Map (db m76076) HM
Dense fog on Lake Huron could spell disaster to vessels filled with passengers and valuable cargo. When fog was present and visibility was poor, mariners were forced to rely on sound to navigate their way into the St. Clair River. Early fog . . . — — Map (db m76083) HM
The St. Clair River has always been an important part of the Great Lakes system. For centuries native people traveled throughout the region in canoes, as did the early French fur traders. In 1679, LaSalle's Griffon was the first sailing . . . — — Map (db m76015) HM
On August 4, 1900, the "Fontana" sank while in these narrows. Several weeks later, on September 25, 1900, the "Martin", a 225 foot schooner with a load of iron ore, was being towed downbound from Lake Huron by the steamer "Grover". In attempting to . . . — — Map (db m41203) HM
The Great Storm of 1913 lasted from November 7th through the 11th. It is often referred to as the "Big Blow", the "Freshwater Fury" or the "White Hurricane". The storm hit four of the five Great Lakes, and was particularly ferocious in Lake . . . — — Map (db m76080) HM
The Grand Trunk Railroad depot to the right is where 12-year-old Tom Edison departed daily on the Port Huron-Detroit run. In 1859, the railroad's first year of operation. Tom persuaded the company to let him sell newspapers and confections on . . . — — Map (db m76017) HM
Prior to the Civil War, African American slaves, in brave and desperate attempts to flee from slave owners in the Southern states, passed through Port Huron via the Underground Railroad. It was not a real railroad but a system of routes where . . . — — Map (db m76050) HM
Fort Gratiot was built by the U.S. Army in 1814 to guard the strategic junction of Lake Huron and the St. Clair River. Troops stood ready to defend Michigan and the U.S. against British forces in Canada.
As settlement moved westward, the fort . . . — — Map (db m76048) HM
