Point Betsie Light

The light was originally equipped with a Fourth Order Fresnel lens {{IPAc-en|f|r|eɪ|ˈ|n|ɛ|l}} with bullseye, which was upgraded to a Third order (with bullseye) in 1880. The latter was visible for {{convert|27.5|mi|nmi km|disp=flip}}, because of the high placement of the tower (focal plane of {{convert|52.5|ft}}) and the efficacy of the lens design.{{cite web|url=http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/closeups/illumination/fresnel/3order.htm |title=Seeing The Light - The Third Order Fresnel Lens |website=Terrypepper.com |access-date=2016-08-02}} The Fresnel Lens was removed in 1996, and was stored for years {{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/history/maritime/light/ptbetsie.htm|title=Maritime Heritage Program - National Park Service|website=Nps.gov|access-date=2016-08-02}} at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.{{cite web|url=http://www.sleepingbeardunes.com/|title=The Official Website of the Sleeping Bear Dunes Visitors Bureau - Sleeping Bear Dunes|website=Sleepingbeardunes.com|access-date=2016-08-02}} It has since been returned to the original site and sits, non-operational, inside the lighthouse where visitors can see its glass combination of engineering and artistry at close proximity.

The cylindrical tower is {{convert|39|ft}} tall, but sits on a dune. It is attached to the Lighthouse keepers house, which was upgraded to an attractive gambrel roof design.{{cite web|url=http://www.terrypepper.com/Lights/michigan/betsie/betsie.htm|title=Seeing The Light - Point Betsie Lighthouse|website=Terrypepper.com|access-date=2016-08-02}}

This was one of the earliest Life Saving Stations, and was run under the auspices of the U.S. Life-Saving Service. In 1910 the United States Lighthouse Board was reconstituted as the U.S. Lighthouse Service. In 1939 these agencies were merged under the control of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Prior to being automated in 1983, the 'wickies' operated the light for 106 years. This was the last manned lighthouse on Lake Michigan{{cite web|url=http://lighthouse.boatnerd.com/gallery/Michigan/PtBetsie.htm|title=Point Betsie Light|website=Lighthouse.boatnerd.com|access-date=2016-08-02|archive-date=2016-03-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303203447/http://lighthouse.boatnerd.com/gallery/Michigan/PtBetsie.htm|url-status=dead}} and the last Michigan lighthouse to lose its keeper.[http://www.lighthousecentral.com/lighthouse_gallery.php4?lighthouse=Point%20Betsie%20Lighthouse Lighthouse Central], Photographs, History, Directions and Way points for Point Betsie Light, The Ultimate Guide to West Michigan Lighthouses by Jerry Roach (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - 2005). {{ISBN|0-9747977-0-7}}. The light is now a Vega VRB-25 system. The new optic would be visible for a range of {{convert|15|to|22|mi|nmi km|disp=flip}}, depending on the bulb used.{{cite web|url=http://www.terrypepper.com/Lights/closeups/illumination/acrylic/VRB-25/index.htm|title=Seeing The Light - The Vega 250mm plastic lighthouse optic|website=Terrypepper.com|access-date=2016-08-02}}

In addition to the lighthouse, the site presently includes a fog signal building and an oil house. Most remnants of the former lifesaving station site have disappeared, including the original boathouse. Some of the former housing units were converted through the years into private cottages and still sit amongst the dunes nearby. Most notable amongst these are the former horse barn which is incorporated into a seasonal cottage to the north of the site, and the sizable 1920s lifesaving personnel dormitory house to the south. A newly constructed building housing a gift shop, public bathrooms and an area for display of related artifacts is slated to open in 2014.

Fog signals have received much attention at Point Betsie. In the autumn of 1912, the fog signal building was rebuilt. The {{convert|10|in|adj=on}} locomotive whistles were replaced by 10 inch chime whistles. Meanwhile, the lamp was upgraded to an incandescent oil vapor system, with an intensity of 55,000 candlepower. In 1921, upon being connected to the electrical power grid, aa 110-volt electric bulb was installed, and the fog signal upgraded to twin Type "G" diaphones, driven by electric air compressors. The diaphone doubled the audible radius, and had the added benefit that it could be brought on line immediately, without waiting for steam engines to build pressure. The following April the fog signal's characteristic was changed to a group of two blasts every 30 seconds. Dismantled and sold as junk to the local residents in the 1970s, who hauled it away, all original fog horn apparatus has long since disappeared and is no longer on site.

The light is located on Point Betsie, Michigan, which in turn is part of a recognized terrestrial marine near shore ecosystem, dominated by a coastal dune with unique flora and fauna, including Pitcher's Thistle, Lake Huron Locust, and fascicled broomrape.{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/1647609/Environmental-Protection-Agency-Land-by-the-Lakes-Nearshore-Terrestrial-Ecosystems |title=Environmental Protection Agency: Land by the Lakes - Nearshore Terrestrial Ecosystems |access-date=2008-07-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621094454/http://www.scribd.com/doc/1647609/Environmental-Protection-Agency-Land-by-the-Lakes-Nearshore-Terrestrial-Ecosystems |archive-date=2008-06-21 }}

The station was transferred to Benzie County under the terms of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act in 2004 and, with the extensive leadership and volunteer power provided by The "Friends of Point Betsie Lighthouse" extensive restoration and renovation continues to this day. For example, the lightstation has been repainted to its original color scheme, which has not been seen since the 1940s. The site is open for tours on a seasonal basis.

Point Betsie is said to be one of America's most photographed lighthouses, and the most-visited attraction in Benzie County.{{cite web|url=http://www.michiganlighthouse.org/bibliography.html |title=Bibliography on Michigan lighthouses |website=Michiganlighthouse.org |access-date=2016-08-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531005328/http://www.michiganlighthouse.org/bibliography.html |archive-date=2008-05-31 }} Because of its picturesque form and location, it is often the subject of photographs and drawings.{{cite web|url=http://home.rochester.rr.com/mjm/light2.html |title=Lighthouse Drawings Michigan |access-date=2007-08-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070828141318/http://home.rochester.rr.com/mjm/light2.html |archive-date=2007-08-28 }} Even needlepoint illustrations have been rendered.[https://www.dataleap.com/secure/pin/orderpage.htm ]{{dead link|date=August 2016}}

It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Reference #84001375.{{cite web|url=http://www.pointbetsie.org/lighthouse.html |title=The Friends of Point Betsie Lighthouse - About the Lighthouse |access-date=2008-02-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611134712/http://www.pointbetsie.org/lighthouse.html |archive-date=2007-06-11 }}

• Lighthouses in the United States

{{Gallery

|File:Point Betsie Lighthouse.JPG|A side view of the lighthouse

|File:Pointbetsie.jpg|Vintage image of the station

|File:point-betsie-hdr.jpg|North side view of the lighthouse

|File:PointBetsieSunset-DSC04560.jpg|Crashing surf at sunset near the lighthouse, 23 September 2021

|File:PointBetsieSunset-DSC04551.jpg|Point Betsie Lighthouse at sunset, 23 September 2021

}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• Hawley, Jonathon P., Point Betsie: Lightkeeping and Lifesaving on Northeastern Lake Michigan 264 p., 61 B&W photos (Ann Arbor, Michigan: [https://web.archive.org/web/20100608221448/http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=349781 University of Michigan Press] 2008) {{ISBN|978-0-472-03318-8}}.

{{Commons category|Point Betsie Light Station|Point Betsie Light}}

• [http://www.pointbetsie.org/ Friends of the Point Betsie Light] - official site
• [http://clarke.cmich.edu/localhistory/Benzie.htm Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, Bibliography for Benzie County]
• [http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080520/SPECIAL01/80519001 Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080114191657/http://www.michigan.gov/documents/hal_mhc_shpo_lightmap_50933_7.pdf Interactive map of lighthouses in area of Lake Michigan]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080703070359/http://www.lighthousesrus.org/MichiganNorth.htm Interactive map/list/information of lighthouses in northeastern Lake Michigan] by LighthousesRus
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080114191657/http://www.michigan.gov/documents/hal_mhc_shpo_lightmap_50933_7.pdf Map of Michigan Lighthouse]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081120053231/http://www.michiganlighthouse.org/Lighthouses/lighthouse_detail.php75.htm Michigan lighthouse fund, Point Betsie Light]
• National Park Service [http://www.nps.gov/history/maritime/light/ptbetsie.htm Inventory of historic light stations, Point Betsie]
• [http://www.lifeonthe45th.com/ Photographs of Point Betsie Light]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080704132901/http://www.pointbetsie.org/chronology.html Summary chronology of Point Betsie light]
• {{cite uscghist|MI}}

{{Lighthouses of Michigan}}

{{National Register of Historic Places in Michigan}}

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Category:Lighthouses completed in 1854

Category:Houses completed in 1854

Category:Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan

Category:Michigan State Historic Sites

Category:Life-Saving Service stations

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Benzie County, Michigan

Category:1859 establishments in Michigan