McGulpin Point Lighthouse Set to Reopen
By Sue Clark on Mar 6, 2009 in News 
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Returned To Service As a PATON
It seems like just last month that Emmet County, Michigan, became the owners of a home that was actually a long decommissioned lighthouse. When so many governmental units are so anxious to get rid of lighthouses, it was a rare treat when the county commissioners negotiated with the owners of what had been McGulpin Point Lighthouse and ended up purchasing it. And with the backing of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association, the renovation has flown. Flown so fast, that the relighting ceremony will be May 30, 2009 at the lighthouse.
Beheaded upon decommissioning, the GLLKA has undertaken to rebuild the lantern room. As of mid February, the following had already been done.
- The Coast Guard has approved reactivation of the lighthouse as a Private Aid To Navigation.
- The new Tidelands Signal 300mm optic has been delivered to Mackinaw City.
- Trees immediately in front of the lighthouse will be removed so it can be seen from the Straits of Mackinac.
- The walls, astragals and roof for the replica lantern for the lighthouse were put together in the fabrication shop for the first time, as shown in the following photo:
Photo courtesy of Terry Pepper, GLLKA
County Got a Bargain
Considering the price of lakefront property, the county got a bargain. It was originally offered at a price of $1.5 million in 2005, but the county acquired it for a little under $720,000. It was such a rarity for something like this to happen, that Terry Pepper, of the GLLKA and creator of Seeing the Lights, asked in a forum at lighthousing.net, “Is anyone aware of any other lighthouses which have been purchased out of private ownership by a municipality? I am not aware of any here in the Great Lakes, and would love to know of any.” I too would love to know if this has happened anywhere else in the world. Let us know in the comments.
Photo Credit: McGulpin Point Lighthouse by C.W.Bash. Some rights reserved.
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2 Comment(s)
By James Hake on May 11, 2009 | Reply
I have heard that the opening festivities will be on Saturday, May 30. I hope more details are made available!
By Sue Clark on May 11, 2009 | Reply
Hi James,
I hope you checked out this post which has a little more on it:
lighthouse-news.com/2009/04/29/mcgulpin-point-lighthouse-lantern-restored/
And, Terry Pepper has posted an invitation at the lighthousing.net forums. The direct link to his post is www.lighthousing.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=9295
Hope you can make it and wishing I could be there.