Cheboygan River Front Range Lighthouse, Cheboygan, Michigan
CHEBOYGAN RIVER RANGE FRONT LIGHT
Location: CHEBOYGAN RIVER, LAKE HERON, CHEBOYGAN, MICHIGAN
Station Established: 1880
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1880
Operational? YES
Automated? UNKNOWN
Deactivated: N/A
Foundation Materials:
Construction Materials: WOOD
Tower Shape: SQUARE
Markings/Pattern: BROWN THEN LATER CHANGED TO WHITE
Relationship to Other Structure: ATTACHED
Original Lens: SIXTH ORDER FRESNEL
Historical Information:
- In 1880 building began on a set of range lights to guide vessels through the newly widened Cheboygan River. The front range light was a keeper’s quarters with a tower attached. The lantern was constructed of wood and equipped with a sixth order Fresnel lens.
- The rear range light was a skeletal tower that was lit on the same day as the front light.
- In 1900, the rear range light was replaced with an iron 75 foot tower. At the same time, the front light was repainted white.
- It is unknown when the lights were automated. The original optics were replaced by locomotive type lights.
- The range lights still serve as an active aid to navigation and are not open to the public.
Researched and written by Melissa Buckler, a volunteer through the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society.