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Around the County is a presentation of Preferred Credit Union, www.preferredcu.org, located locally at 266 N. Jebavy Dr., Ludington.
Photos by Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
HAMLIN TOWNSHIP — On July 28, 1866, Congress appropriated $35,000 ($674,608 adjusted for inflation, 2024) for a new lighthouse at Big Sable Point. The State of Michigan had deeded about 933 acres to the United States, at no cost, for the land that the lighthouse would be built on. Construction began in 1867, making it the first light station in the area. Construction materials for the 112-foot high tower and the attached house were brought in by ships. A road to the site wasn’t built until 1933. The tower was originally made of yellow cream brick. The brick deteriorated and was covered by boiler plate in 1900.
The original lens of the lighthouse was a third order Fresnel lens, which was removed in 1985 and is now on loan from the federal government to the Mason County Historical Society and on display at the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum.
Big Sable Point Lighthouse, located in the Ludington State Park, is now owned by the state of Michigan and operated by the Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association, based in Ludington.
Editor’s Note: A special thank you to Deputy Mike Fort of the Mason County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol for the ride out to the Point.
Mason County Sheriff’s Office on patrol off Big Sable Point.
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