 | |
 | |
| Location | Mackinac County, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 45°50′13.8″N 84°36′59.7″W / 45.837167°N 84.616583°W |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1895  |
| Foundation | Concrete pier |
| Construction | Brick |
| Automated | 1924 |
| Height | 57 feet (17 m)[1] |
| Shape | Square |
| Markings | red w/ black lantern, trim & attached house w/ red lower & cream upper |
| Heritage | National Register of Historic Places listed place |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1895 |
| Deactivated | 1947 |
| Focal height | 53 feet (16 m)[2] |
| Lens | Fourth Order Fresnel Lens (original), 12-inch (300 mm) Tideland signal ML-300 acrylic optic[4] (current) |
| Range | 16 nautical miles; 29 kilometres (18 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl W 10 seconds[3] |
Round Island Lighthouse | |
 U.S. Coast Guard archive photo | |
| Nearest city | Mackinac Island, Michigan |
| Area | 0.9 acres (0.36 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 74000994[5] |
| Added to NRHP | August 21, 1974 |
The Round Island Light, also known as the Old Round Island Point Lighthouse,[6] is a lighthouse located on the west shore of Round Island in the shipping lanes of the Straits of Mackinac,[7] which connect Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.[6][8][9] It was deemed necessary because the island is a significant hazard to navigation in the straits, and was seen as an effective complement to the other lights in the area.[10] Because of its color scheme and form — red stone base and wood tower — it has been likened to an old-fashioned schoolhouse.[11] Ferries regularly pass it on their way to (and from) Mackinac Island, and it is a recognizable icon of the upper Great Lakes.
- ^ Pepper, Terry. "Database of Tower Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com.
- ^ Pepper, Terry. "Database of Focal Heights". Seeing the Light. terrypepper.com.
- ^ Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. p. 212.
- ^ Tideland Signal acrylic optic, Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- ^ Map of Lighthouses in the Mackinac Straits.
- ^ Old Round Island Point Light/Round Island Light, Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society USA-706.
- ^ Amateur Radio Light House Society, World List of Lights
- ^ "Brisson, Steven C. (Mackinac State Historic Parks chief curator), "A brief history of Old Mackinac Point Light," Mackinac Parks". Archived from the original on 2008-08-20. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
- ^ Nico Derks. "Lake Huron Lights". Archived from the original on 2006-05-18.
The lighthouse looks like a taller version of the old-fashioned American schoolhouse [...]