DeTour Reef Light, Chippewa County, Michigan
DETOUR REEF LIGHT
Location: MOUTH OF ST. MARY'S RIVER/LAKE HURON
Station Established: 1847
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1931
Operational? YES
Automated? YES 1974
Deactivated: n/a
Foundation Materials: CRIB
Construction Materials: REINFORCED CONCRETE/STEEL
Tower Shape: SQUARE
Markings/Pattern: WHITE W/RED ROOF
Relationship to Other Structure: INTEGRAL
Original Lens: THIRD AND HALF ORDER
Historical Information:
- 1931/32 – Lighthouse built for $140,000.
- 1974 – Lighthouse automated.
- 1988 – Fresnel lens removed and replaced by modern optic.
- 1996 – New VRB-25 optic installed.
- 1998 – Detour Reef Light Preservation Society (DRLPS) formed.
- 2000 – DRLPS obtained 20-year lease on the lighthouse from the Coast Guard.
Keepers:
- James Beloungea (1st Assistant, 1931 – 1939)
- John Sweet (1933 – 1940)
- Lyle Garfield (2nd Assistant, 1937 – 1941)
- Charles Jones (1940 – 1963)
- Thomas P. Brander (1st Assistant, 1940 – 1945)
Researched and written by Marie Vincent, a volunteer through the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society.