This old lighthouse seems a tad bit weathered and worn out. The Grand Island East Channel Lighthouse has seen a lot of seasons even though its service years were few. The ‘schoolhouse’ style lighthouse was built out of wood instead of brick or stone, but stood proudly in it white coat of paint and first displayed its light in 1868. But being close to the water edge was a maintenance nightmare and the foundation was in constant danger of being undermined. The tower was stuck by lightning in 1891 and the lighthouse was becoming expensive to maintain.

The poor old lighthouse was last lit in 1908 after two range lights were constructed in the town of Munising since the old lighthouse wasn’t visible to Lake Superior traffic with its location at the southernmost point of the island and the light remained completely invisible to vessels entering through the eastern passage until they were almost abreast of the light itself.

A hundred years ago, the lighthouse was sold to a consortium of 20 individuals. The white paint soon turned to a driftwood gray, but thousands of tourists taking the Picture Rocks cruises, photograph this lighthouse which is no longer in it glory days but still has it own unique charm.

Faded From Glory Days