In 1825, A lighthouse was established near the mouth of the St. Clair River, at the southern end of Lake Huron. It sat just north of Fort Gratiot, a military outpost that would give the lighthouse its name. That light, of poor construction and location, crumbled during a September storm in 1828.


Bids were soon offered for the replacement of the light, and in 1829 Lucius Lyon received the contract to build the new tower for a price of $4,445. The new tower's location was moved a half mile north of the original tower, which would prove more visible by the mariners navigating on the lake. The tower and keeper's dwelling were completed in late winter of 1829.


Since 1829, a few changes have taken place. The tower height was raised from 65 feet to 82 feet in 1862 and in 2011, a massive restoration effort replaced 35,000 damaged bricks on the outer shell of the tower.


The Fort Gratiot Lighthouse is the oldest in the State of Michigan and the second oldest in all the Great Lakes.


[Photos of lighthouse in]

1870, 1904, 1913, 1945, 2011

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Show me all markers in:  Port Huron, MI  |  St. Clair County  |  48060  |  Michigan  |  United States of America

Seeing the Light
The Storm
Learning from Lake Huron
Sending a Signal
Keepers Duties
Fort Gratiot Light
Fort Saint Joseph
Great Storm of 1913 and Sailors Memorial
The "John S. Martin"
Methodist Episcopal Church

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