The Lights of Grosse Ile

Early ship captains relied on superior navigational skills as they entered the Detroit River in the 1800s. There were few lights to point the way through this obstacle course of islands, shoals, and limestone outcroppings. Here and there private lights assisted, as was the case on treacherous Ballard's Reef off the northeastern shore of Grosse Ile. Ships arriving at nightfall prudently anchored to await the morning light before continuing on their journey.

As river traffic increased in the late 1800s, the Cleveland Vessels Owners Association petitioned the U.S. Congress to establish range lights on the northern end of Grosse Ile. The request was granted in 1891 when the first pair of lights was established on Hennepin Point. The purpose was to mark the channel for up-bound traffic from Lime Kiln Crossing (between Stony Island, Grosse Ile, and Gordon, Ontario) to a point south of Mamajuda Island. These lights were called the south channel range lights and they were tended by a lighthouse keeper who lived on Mamajuda Island. He had to row a distance of over a mile to Hennepin Point each day to make sure the kerosene lamps were in good operating order.

Three years later, Congress appropriated money to establish another set of lights to serve downbound traffic, the north channel range lights. They were lighted for the first time July 16, 1894. These lights were designed to mark the Fighting Island channel northward past Mamajuda Island. The point at which the north and south channel range lights intersected in the river marked the turning point in the channel and safe passage to ensure clearing the sandbar at the southwest point of Fighting Island. The northernmost of the north channel range lights was the Grosse Ile Light, Now the only lighthouse remaining on the Island. The companion beacon to the south was built on land north of Horsemill fairly close to Parke Lane. It was turned off in the early 1900's when the channel was changed.

The lighthouse keeper lived in a one-room cabin near the rear tower until a larger house finally was built on the property in 1904. In addition to keeping the lights burning, the keeper was responsible for cleaning and painting the lighthouses. Oil for the lamps was stored in metal structures near the lights, as was a supply of glycerin which was used to clean the windows and keep them from freezing during the cold winter months.

The lights were electrified about 1929. The Grosse Ile Light was an occulting white light, flashing one second on and one second off. The Hennepin Point range lights were green. These three remaining lights on Grosse Ile were turned off forever in the late 1940s and the huge lenses removed by the Coast Guard. The lights on Hennepin Point were later torn down. Fortunately, the Grosse Ile lighthouse was saved from the wrecking ball.

The last keeper left Grosse Ile in 1932 when the Coast Guard in Wyandotte took charge of more than 50 lights, buoys, and river markers in the jurisdiction. The next year, the keeper's house on Parke Lane became a headquarters for the Border Patrol. Today, it is a private residence.

The original 1894, Grosse Ile lighthouse resembled a water tower on stilts as it was constructed on wooden pilings along with a 170 foot walkway to shore. It was rebuilt in 1906, and this is the classic white structure we know today. The interior of the lighthouse is paneled with old-fashioned tongue and groove varnished pine. A handsome circular wooden staircase climbs to the top.

In 1965, the township purchased the Island's only remaining lighthouse from the U.S. Department of the Interior for $350 with funds provided by the Grosse Ile Historical Society. The Society was given the responsibility to preserve and maintain the lighthouse, and to that end they have established a Lighthouse Preservation Fund. Donations are always welcome and needed for continuing maintenance. Checks should be made out to the Grosse Ile Historical Society and mailed to P.O. Box 131, Grosse Ile, Michigan 48138.

Nancy G. Karmazin
Grosse Ile Historical Society

Related Items:

Grosse Ile History

Grosse Ile Historical Society