Opened in 1868, the Grand Island East Channel Lighthouse was located to the North of Munising, Michigan. It was made to lead the boats and ships on the right way to Grand Island. Although it serves its purpose properly, Lake Superior needed more help with navigation. 

The History of the Grand Island Lighthouse

One of the oldest lighthouses in the Upper Peninsula was made after Senator Zechariah Chandler presented a petition to Congress for the need for a lighthouse on the Grand Island Bay and Harbor. Like the pilots, boat owners, and Lake Superior's point out the problem of reaching the shore at the South of the Island, as there's no light to make them a safe reach. 

Four months after the petition was filed Congress appropriated 6000$ for making a new lighthouse for the Island. 

After submitting the petition the Congress sent to investigate the site and report to them if the lighthouse was needed or not. But the report said the same thing as the Senator mentioned. The 6000$ which was given to build the lighthouse was not enough to do the work appropriately. Later in the year, 1866 Congress provided another  $10,000 to the lighthouse after talking with the shipmasters who worked on the harbors. The fund of the lighthouse was spent to install a pair of range lights on the eastern entrance of the Thumb. The lighthouse, made out of brick, is a wood-frame keeper’s house with an attached square wooden tower. The first keeper of the lighthouse was Thoma Wilson who served for two years, before that he served in the Copper Harbor Lighthouse for fourteen years. The second keeper of the lighthouse was Napoleon Beedon. Locally this lighthouse is known as Grand Island East Channel Light.

Why was the Lighthouse Abandoned

The Grand Island lighthouse was struck by lightning in 1891 and it caused huge damage to the tower of the lighthouse. Then in 1898 a Storm greatly affected the lighthouse and moved it 200 feet back to its original place. Later the lighthouse was rebuilt 100 feet away from the shore to protect it. In 1905, the lighthouse authority announced that it was no longer working and closed. As the mariners were unable to see the light of the lighthouse and also it was a high maintenance place. The lighthouse was last worked on October 29, 1908, at that time the keeper of the lighthouse was George Prior, later after the lighthouse closed he was transferred to a new station. In 1913 this isolated lighthouse was purchased by Munising Moose Lodge.

Recent Situation of The Grand Island Lighthouse

Over the years the lighthouse remains isolated and underdeveloped. It was the victim of rotting and erosion. In 1999 the East Channel Lighthouse Rescue Committee tried to save this historical structure from negligence. The work on the lighthouse started in 2002, without changing its original structure they rebuilt it in 2005. And right now it is one of the attractions of Michigan.