(WXYZ) — Two Northern Michigan lighthouses will receive more than $100,000 in grants to support ongoing preservation efforts.
According to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the Charlevoix South Pier Lighthouse on Lake Michigan and the Gull Rock Lighthouse on Lake Superior will receive the grants.
They come from the Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program from the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office and the MEDC.
“This year, SHPO is celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program and is proud of the important work that has been accomplished across the state to restore and repair these irreplaceable icons,” State Historic Preservation Officer Ryan Schumaker said in a statement. “SHPO is pleased to build on past preservation efforts by supporting these two lighthouses and their stewards in their continued efforts to invest in Michigan’s maritime heritage.”
The Charlevoix Historical Society was granted $60,000 with a matching $80,500 to support ongoing preservation efforts at the Charlevoix South Pier Lighthouse. The society will hire a contractor to clean and paint portions of the exterior and interior of the lighthouse.
“On behalf of the Charlevoix Historical Society, we are extremely grateful to the State Historic Preservation Office for the grant awarded through the MLAP program, and to all of those who participate in the ‘Save Our Lights’ license plate program,” President Emerita and Lighthouse Chair Denise Fate said in a statement. “This important project will ensure the long-term stability and preservation of Charlevoix’s beloved South Pier Lighthouse, which plays a significant role in the City’s identity.”
The remote Gull Rock Lighthouse off the eastern tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula will get more than $46,000 and another $23,233.33 in matching grants for its preservation.
The Gull Rock Lightkeepers will hire a contractor to clean and re-stain the cedar roof of the 1867 lighthouse, which is undergoing navigation.
Gull Rock is one of the most remote lighthouses in the Great Lakes and was among the earliest to be automated in 1913.
“The SHPO has been a critical partner in the ongoing restoration of the Gull Rock Lighthouse, both through its financial support via the Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program as well as through the ongoing advice and technical expertise provided by its staff,” Gull Rock Lightkeepers Secretary David Younkman said in a statement. “We greatly value our partnership and the historic results that we have and will continue to achieve together. Protecting and restoring these lighthouses is a wonderful reminder of the long and important history America has had with our Great Lakes.”
Funding from the program comes directly from the sale of specialty Save Our Lights license plates which are available from the Michigan Secretary of State.
“Because of the generosity of people who pay a little extra for a lighthouse license plate, we are able to award grants each year that help preserve these symbolic Michigan structures for the long term,” Schumaker said.
