 | | U.S.C.G. | Crisp Point Lighthouse
In 1904 this handsome, round brick tower, 58' high, was built on a remote stretch of Lake Superior, between Vermilion and Two Heart, now ghost towns. At this point on the "Shipwreck Coast," writes industrial and maritime historian Charles Hyde in The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes, "many vessels heading for Whitefish Point had deviated slightly from their course and were wrecked."
Today Crisp Point is really not a point at all, just a slight bulge, due to a natural process called "coastal straightening." The tower is all that remains of the original light station complex after repeated poundings by stormy waves. Now an automated light makes use of the tower.
The Crisp Point Light Historical Society has tackled the lighthouse's preservation problems on every level, starting with sandbags to stabilize the shoreline at this exposed place. Visit its web site, crisppointlight.org, for news about recent fundraising projects through grants and sales of Crisp Point lighthouse items; to view historic photos of the original lighthouse complex; and to see an interesting diagram of coastal straightening. (Stone reinforcements aren't necessarily enough. Huge storms in fall of 2005 even moved some of the six- to ten-ton blocks.) The web site shows many ways people can help support the project, including letter-writing. And it shares helpful information the society has discovered, like its whitewash formula.
Don Ross continues the work he began with his late wife, Nellie, the project's energetic sparkplug. Luce County has improved the road, so you no longer need a four-wheel drive to get here. Metal directional signs now mark the way. A new entrance to the tower is almost finished.
Point used to be nearly deserted. Now there's nearly always someone here. It gets some 25,000 visitors a year. Rockhounds come to look for agates — an unpredictable activity. One day the beach will have large patches of stones. The next it may be all sand.
A trip to lighthouse, beach, and beautiful natural area remains an end-of-the-road adventure, 18 miles from a paved road, 23 miles from electrical service. The scene today isn't too different from that described by Laurie Penrose in A Traveler's Guide to 116 Michigan Lighthouses in 1992: "The sandy shoreline is unbroken — no houses, harbors or docks – in both directions as far as they eye can see. A dark line of forest follows the strip of sand; beach grasses and low bushes provide other greenery; and the beach is littered with gnarled driftwood."
Crisp Point is about 8 miles east of Culhane Lake Campground, some 36 miles northeast of Newberry or 36 miles northwest of Paradise. Seasonal access roads are open only from mid May to mid October. Do not attempt to go here other times. You may get stuck and need a wrecker to get out! If in doubt about road conditions, call Rainbow Lodge, (906) 658-3357. March, 2008
Volunteers hold the light tower open Saturday afternoons from mid-June through September, weather depending, from noon to 5. Longer hours possible. To confirm, call (906) 492-3206 or (906) 492-3496. Gravel parking lot and boardwalk are now wheelchair-accessible.
Directions to Crisp Point from Tahquamenon Falls: from M-123 about 5 miles west of the Upper Falls, take County Road 500 north all the way to Little Lake Harbor.Take CR 412 right (east) in the direction of harbor signs, then pay close attention to CR 412 signs to stay on the correct road. In 4 1/2 miles, CR 412 turns north. After that, the last 2 1/2 miles have been widened and improved with gravel.
Directions from Deer Park, Newberry: see under Rainbow Lodge.
Return to Two Hearted River Mouth Area
|
