Lighthouses and Geography

The Fort Gratiot Lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse in Michigan and marks the entrance to the St. Clair River from Lake Huron. The first tower was built in 1825 to help mariners navigate the treacherous waters beneath where the Blue Water Bridge now stands. Due to shoddy construction, it collapsed after a storm in 1828. Congress felt it was important enough to reconstruct it in its current location in 1829, just a year after its collapse, and has been an active aid to navigation ever since. Over the years, many different buildings were built on the grounds as the station grew. Currently, you can tour the lighthouse keeper’s duplex which was built in 1874 and served as a home for two of the lighthouse keeper families. During your tour, you’ll also visit the fog signal building, constructed in 1900, which now houses the lighthouse technology exhibit. The Coast Guard moved to the site in 1932 and constructed the crew’s quarters for all of the new personnel on site, though this building is undergoing restoration and is currently not open to the public. However, the 1938 Coast Guard equipment building is home to our museum store and can be seen during your visit. Due to the historic nature of this site, the only buildings with wheelchair accessibility are the museum store and fog signal building.

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