Saginaw Bay Lighthouse and Saginaw River Range Lights of the Bay City, Michigan Area
Read the entries for Saginaw Bay Lighthouse and its replacement, the Saginaw River Range (Front and Rear) Lighthouses in the Annual Reports of the Lighthouse Board. (This is the most important record for lighthouses from the U.S. Government.)
"Mr. Lucius Lyon presented a petition of sundry citizens of the Territory of Michigan, praying that an appropriation may be made for the purpose of erecting a light-house at the confluence of Saginaw river with Lake Huron, and improving the navigation of said river and its tributary streams."
"The rules being suspended for the purpose, Mr. Jones, of Michigan, submitted sundry resolutions, which were severally read and agreed to by the House, viz:
• 1. Resolved, That the Committee on Commerce be instructed to inquire into the expediency of erecting light-houses on suitable sites at the mouth of Detroit river, of Lake Erie; at the mouth of Saginaw river, of Lake Huron; at Wagooshance, or Fox Point, on the straits of Michilimackinac; and at the mouth of the Grand Kalamazoo, and Milwaukie rivers, of Lake Michigan."
"Mr. Linn presented the petition of a number of the citizens of Michigan, praying the erection of a light-house at the mouth of the Saginaw river, and the removal of obstructions to the navigation of the Flint, Shiawassee,
"Mr. Norvell presented the memorial of the Legislature of the State of Michigan, requesting the adoption of measures by Congress for the removal of the Lake tribes of Indians to the country east of the Mississippi; which was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs, and ordered to be printed.
Mr. Norvell presented the memorial of a number of the citizens of Michigan, praying the erection of a light-house, and the establishment of a port of entry, at the mouth of the Saginaw of Lake Huron; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce."
ency of making appropriations for building light-houses at New Buffalo, Kalamazoo river, North and South Black river, Grand river, Saginaw river, Windmill point, at the outlet of Lake St. Clair; and upon Stony point, in the county of Monroe, State of Michigan; for the improvement of the harbors at the mouths of said rivers; at New Buffalo, Havre bay, the mouth of Stony creek, and at that of Clinton river; to improve the harbor at Mackinac; to remove the bar at the mouth of the river St. Maria; to build a light-house at that point; and for the establishment of a port of entry at the town of Lower Saginaw, in the State of Michigan."
EXCERPT from the "HISTORY OF THE LAKE HURON SHORE. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SOME OF THE PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS." CHICAGO: H.R. PAGE & CO. 1883:
page 21:
"The foregoing instrument was executed February 11th, 1837.
This company caused 240 acres of this purchase in the northwest portion on the river to be surveyed and platted for a town, and named it Lower Saginaw. The boundries of this embryo city were the present Woodside Avenue, the Saginaw River, a line about 100 feet east of and parallel with Van Buren Street."
Resolved, That the Committee on Commerce be instructed to inquire into the expediency of establishing the following ports of entry, to wit: at Saint Joseph, at the mouth of Saint Joseph river; at Saginaw, on Saginaw river; and at Saint Mary, on Saint Mary river."
Resolved, That the Committee on Commerce be instructed to inquire into the expediency of making an appropriation for the survey of the waters and islands of the upper part of lake Erie, Detroit river, lake St. Clair, the flats at the mouth of St. Clair river, Saginaw bay, Thunderbay islands, the straits of Mackinac, the islands at the foot of lake Michigan, the straits and waters leading from lake Huron to lake Superior, and the waters and islands of Green bay."
"In my visit to Saganaw, I ascertained that no preparations had been
made for erecting light-house buildings at the mouth of that river, as au-
thorized. The commerce of this place is considerable, and increasingly;
the lumber trade alone will soon be of importance value, and well worthy
of this guide to its location. Saganaw city is twenty miles up river of
the same name ; the citizens of which town look forward to great increase
in their prosperity when the canal, now being made, is completed, con-
118 Doc. No. 24
necting the waters of Saganaw river with those of Grand river, on lake
Michigan ; by which internal navigation a lengthy yoyage on the lakes
is obviated.
The navigation of Saganaw bay, from its great extent, is oftentimes as
boisterous as that of the adjoining lake ; and on it surface, the consider-
able commerce using it requires some additional aid from Government to
make the traverse secure. With a light-house on the northeastern part
of the outermost of the Charity islands in that bay, which may be seen
soon after leaving that on Point-aux-Barques, and form a connecting link
with the one at the mouth of Saganaw river, the bay navigators will feel
themselves more secure. It would also serve as a guide to Torwass har-
bor, on the western shore of the bay, bearing about N. N. W. from the
outer point of the islands referred to. It is a safe shelter from all winds
and the worst of storms."
"The following message was received from the President of the United States, by Mr. Abraham Van Buren, his secretary:
To the Senate of the United States:
I transmit, for the constitutional action of the Senate, articles supplementary to the treaty with the Chippewas for the purchase of forty acres of land at the mouth of the Saginaw River, which are esteemed necessary in the erection and use of a light-house at that point.
M. VAN BUREN.
Washington, 21st February, 1839.
The message was read.
The articles supplementary to certain treaties between the United States and the Saganaw tribe of Chippewas were read; and, by unanimous consent, were read the second time.
Ordered, That the message, treaty, and accompanying documents be referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs and printed in confidence for the use of the Senate."
Supplementary article to a certain treaty between the United States and the Chippewa chiefs of Saganaw, concluded at Lower Saganaw on the seventh day of February eighteen hundred and thirty-nine.
ART. 1st.
Whereas by the first article of the aforesaid treaty, the chiefs stipulate to sell to the United States forty acres of land to be located on the Na-bo-bish tract at the mouth of Saganaw river, for the purpose of erecting thereon a light-house.
Now provided the President of the U. S. should prefer forty acres, on the tract, known as the forty thousand acre reservation, at the mouth of the aforesaid river, he is fully authorized by these presents to change the location from the Na-bo-bish tract, to the said forty thousand acre reservation."
This meant they originally were going to put the forty acre Light-House Reservation on the east side of the Saginaw River, known then as the "Na-bo-bish tract" (presently Consumers Energy's Weadock Plant, built in 1940, is located there) and changed the desired location of the forty acre Light-House Reservation to be on the west side of the river, then known as the "forty thousand acre reservation."
EXCERPT from the "HISTORY OF THE LAKE HURON SHORE. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SOME OF THE PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS." CHICAGO: H.R. PAGE & CO. 1883:
page 21 and 22:
"In July, 1839, Stephen Wolverton arrived, commisioned to build a light house at the mouth of the river. He came on a small vessel, commanded by Capt. Stiles, and commenced the work which was afterwards finished by Capt. Levi Johnson, of Cleveland, Ohio."
The Saginaw Bay Light Station had a keeper's dwelling that was not connected to the light tower. The station was located near the mouth of the Saginaw River (on the west side of the river) and the Saginaw Bay (this was near where the Saginaw River Front Range Light would be built 35 years later). The first keeper of the lighthouse, Harvey Williams, started working for the Lighthouse Service in September 1841. The light was lit sometime in the fall of 1841.
According to the 1842 Light List, the Saginaw Bay Lighthouse had a 65 foot tower with 11 lamps (Lewis lamps) and 14 inch reflectors. The 1848 Light List says it had a 65 foot tower with 7 lamps (Lewis lamps) and 14 inch reflectors. It was refitted with a 6th order Fresnel lens in 1856 and then refitted with a larger 4th order Fresnel lens in 1863. According to the 1876 Light List (dated January), it had a 65 foot tower with a 4th order Fresnel lens 72 feet (focal plane) above Saginaw Bay level.
On motion by Mr. Chase to amend the bill by inserting, after the words "light house establishment:"
For the preservation, repair, and further prosecution of the public works hereinafter mentioned, the several sums specified in connexion with each work respectively:"
Excerpt from the "Journal of the Senate of the United States of America, 1789-1873 MONDAY, March 3, 1851."
"For the improvement of the harbor at the mouth of Saginaw river, in Saginaw bay, on Lake Huron, ten thousand dollars."
EXCERPT from the "HISTORY OF THE LAKE HURON SHORE. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SOME OF THE PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS." CHICAGO: H.R. PAGE & CO. 1883:
page 72:
"CHANGE OF NAME.
As the resources of the Saginaw Valley began to be developed in earnest, and the fame of this region widened, it was felt that the village near the mouth of the river should have a title by which it could more easily and readily distinguished. Accordingly, in the Winter of 1857, Hon. James Birney drafted a bill and presented it to the Legislature. The bill was passed, and the act approved February 10, which provided, "That the name of the village of Lower Saginaw, in the Township of Hampton, State of Michigan, be, and the same is, hereby changed to Bay City.""
"Range Lights" allow mariners to line up two lights, one behind the other and when they are in alignment (when one beacon is above the other) they know they are in the center of the shipping channel.
Click here to see the original blue prints for building the Rear Range Light that were approved by the Lighthouse Board on March 28, 1876. Construction on the Saginaw River Range Lights was begun in May, 1876. They were first lit on the night of September 15, 1876 and and the beacon of the Saginaw Bay Lighthouse was discontinued.
Vital Statistics as of 1876:
Saginaw River Rear Range Light:
Located on the west side of the Saginaw River about 2/3 of a mile from the mouth of the river and about 2,330 feet and 184° from the Saginaw River Front Range Light.
A 4th order Fresnel lens.
The light was displayed from inside a 10-sided cast iron lantern room at a height of 61 feet above average Saginaw River level (focal plane).
A tapered, square, brick 53 foot tower, attached to the northwest corner of a two-story (plus a cellar at ground level) keeper's dwelling (26 feet, 6 inches square) built of Milwaukee brick (a buff color brick also known as Cream City Brick).
Saginaw River Front Range Light:
Located on the west side of the Saginaw River, near the mouth.
A 6th order Fresnel lens.
The light was displayed from a height of 37 feet above average Saginaw River level (focal plane).
A square, white, pyramidal, open, framework 34 foot tall tower, with upper part inclosed, on a timber crib.
Also in 1876, the tower of the Saginaw Bay Lighthouse was demolished to avoid the possiblity of confusion for mariners (as a daymark) with the new Range Lights. Eventually its keeper's dwelling was used as an assistant keeper's dwelling for the Saginaw River Range Light Station. The Annual Report of the Lighthouse Board for 1901 said "The west wall of the assistant Keeper’s dwelling, near the front light, was taken down and rebuilt, and various repairs were made."
Plans for the remodeling of the assistant keeper's dwelling (2-story plus cellar) were approved on November 15, 1904. In a drawing, obtained from the U.S. Coast Guard, it says "To Be Razed." This was the original part of the 1841 Saginaw Bay Lighthouse keeper's dwelling (the dimensions are 34 feet by 20 feet), with four rooms: two below and two above. The portion of the plan which is 18 feet by 14 feet, and does not have "To Be Razed" written on it, was a kitchen that was requested in the "1850 Annual Report of the Fifth Auditor" (16 feet by 22 feet was asked for). The kitchen was finally built at some unknown time after 1850 but prior to 1869 (repair of the kitchen is first recommended in the 1869 Annual Report of the Lighthouse Board).
According to the 1905 Annual Report of the Lighthouse Board, "The remodeling of the assistant keeper’s dwelling by contract was begun in May and good progress was made." The 1906 Annual Report of the Lighthouse Board said "The remodeling of the assistant keeper’s dwelling was completed."
A portion of Nautical Chart #52 ("Lake Huron from Richmondville to Au Sable Point including Saginaw Bay") from September 1912 shows the location of the Saginaw River Range Lights and shipping channel in the Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay. Click here for a large, detailed version (file size about 501K).
Image courtesy of the "Office of Coast Survey".
A portion of Nautical Chart #524 ("Saginaw River") from July 1918 shows the location of the Saginaw River Range Lights and shipping channel in the Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay. Click here for a large, detailed version (file size about 522K).
Image courtesy of the "Office of Coast Survey".
In 1915, the timber crib for the Front Range Light was replaced by a concrete pier and a black, pyramidal skeleton steel tower with white slatted daymark. The light was increased to a height of 39 feet above average Saginaw River level (focal plane). The 6th order Fresnel lense in the Front Range Light was replaced by a 300mm lens. Electricity from the Bay City Power Co. was installed as the illuminant of the Front and Rear Range Lights, displayed for the first time on the night of November 28.
In 1919, a new reinforced concrete walkway five feet in width replaced the original raised wooden walkway (one story above ground/cellar level) encircling the keeper’s dwelling and Rear Range Light.
In 1930, the 4th order Fresnel was removed from the Rear Range and replaced by modern apparatus.
Since the 1940s, The Dow Chemical Company has owned the property surrounding the lighthouse, so the only way to reach the station was either via the 100 yard long channel (boat slip) that extends from the lighthouse eastward to the Saginaw River or a road on Dow property. Dow allowed access to the station as well as space for parking and garages for the station.
The men and women that served as Keepers and 1st Assistant Keepers of the Saginaw Bay Light Station from 1841-1876 and the Saginaw River Range Light Station from 1876-1939 in alphabetical order:
George A. Barkley, Frederick Beland, William A. Burke, Edward J. Buzzard, Mrs. Nellie Buzzard, Julia T. Brawn (Julia T. Brawn-Way), Peter Brawn, Leonidus B. Charlton, Levi Clark, William H. Cotter, George Decker, William H. Gill, Andrew W. Henderson, J. J. Malden, William H. Munshaw, William Pomeroy, George M. Schinderette, John Sharpe (correct way is Sharp), F. F. Simpson, James B. Terry, Charles C. Van Alstine, George Way, Harvey Williams.
View the list with positions and dates served by these people, courtesy of Phyllis L. Tag of Great Lakes Lighthouse Research.
The U.S. Coast Guard took over responsiblity of the Saginaw River Range Light Station (and all lighthouses in the U.S.) in 1939. The "old" Saginaw Bay shipping channel that had lead (going in an almost due south direction) since the early 1870's, to the mouth of the Saginaw River and the Saginaw River Front, and Rear Range Lights which guided ships in that old channel to the river, since 1876, became obsolete when a "new" Saginaw Bay shipping channel (going from a northeast to southwest direction) to the mouth Saginaw River was completed in 1962.
In 1960, construction began on a new shipping channel in the Saginaw Bay. The new shipping channel runs in a southwest direction in the Saginaw Bay to the mouth of the Saginaw River. For comparison, the old shipping in the Saginaw Bay went in an almost due south direction to the mouth of the Saginaw River. The direction in the new shipping channel was so different from the old channel, ships would not be able to use the Saginaw River Front and Rear Range Lights to they know they were in the center of the new shipping channel from Saginaw Bay to the mouth of the Saginaw River. The 1962 U.S. Coast Guard Light List shows the Saginaw River Front and Rear Range Lights. With the completion of the new shipping channel in the Saginaw Bay, the Saginaw River Rear Range Light became obsolete and was decommissioned and the Saginaw River Front Range Light was given a new name, as indicated in the 1963 U.S. Coast Guard Light List, where it does not show either the Saginaw River Front or Rear Range Lights, but it does list the coordinates of what had been called the Saginaw River Front Range Light in the 1962 U.S. Coast Guard Light List, and calls it a "Leading" Light.
Sometime between 1967 and 1971 (the exact year is not yet known), the "Leading" Light was discontinued and the Saginaw Bay Channel Range Lights (Front and Rear) were established on steel towers. The Saginaw Bay Channel Front Range Light was installed in the water at the mouth of the Saginaw River. The Saginaw Bay Channel Rear Range Light was located on land behind and southwest of the Saginaw Bay Channel Front Range Light. The 1972 U.S. Coast Guard Light List shows the Saginaw Bay Channel Range Lights. The Saginaw Bay Channel Range Lights were updated at least a few times over the years, and are still active to this day.
What had been known as the Saginaw River Light and Rescue Station until circa 1963, continued as an active Coast Guard station (under the name: Saginaw River Coast Guard Station) until the new station (across the river in Essexville, Michigan) was completed in December of 1980. The crew was moved to the new station that same month. The new station was dedicated in May 1981.
In 1982, the "Lighthouse Preservation Committee" attempted to move the Saginaw River Rear Range Lighthouse to another location. On July 19, 1984, the lighthouse was placed on the National Register of Historical Places and received the number 84001373. Also in 1984, Bay City’s Shrine Mariners begin doing maintenance on the lighthouse. In 1985, Bay County approveed a plan to ask the U.S. Department of Interior to turn over the lighthouse to the county, but the plan fell through. 1987, the lighthouse was purchased for a retirement home, but problems arise when Dow Chemical Co. refused to grant easements. In 1989, Dow bought the small square patch of property the lighthouse stands on as well as the structure for $100,000. In the fall of 1999, the Saginaw River Marine Historical Society made an agreement with The Dow Chemical Company, to restore the Saginaw River Rear Range Lighthouse.
Today, the Saginaw River Rear Range Lighthouse still stands as it has for over 129 years. It can be viewed from the river by boat, but please note the lighthouse is on private property. The Saginaw River Front Range Light was removed from its concrete crib (the exact date when this was done is not yet known but it was probably removed in the 1960s). This crib still exists and is located is on the west bank of the Saginaw River next to the Bay City Yacht Club. It can be seen from the river by boat.
You can see information for the Saginaw River Rear Range Lighthouse on the Historical Sites Online Web site (from the State Historic Preservation Office, Michigan Historical Center, Department of History, Arts and Libraries, Lansing, Michigan).
It is worth noting, the huge D.E. Karn - J.C. Weadock Generating Complex owned by Consumers Energy is located on the eastern side of the mouth of the Saginaw River and across the river from the Saginaw River Rear Range Lighthouse. Construction on the power plant started in 1940.
On October 4, 2001, 8 former members of the Coast Guard that had worked at what was called the Saginaw River Range Light Station prior to circa 1963 and then went by the name: Saginaw River Coast Guard Station for the remainder of the 1960s and 1970s, gathered at what is now known as the Saginaw River Rear Range Lighthouse or Saginaw River Rear Range Light Station. Many of these 8 men did not know each other because they had worked at the station during different times between the years of 1955 and 1978, but they did have one thing in common, they worked at the same place and are now are part of its history.
Read about this meeting:
In The Detroit News article: "Volunteers restore shine to old lighthouse - 125-year-old facility served as Coast Guard Station on Saginaw River until 1980, when it was replaced". It was published on Wednesday, October 24, 2001.
(Please note there is a correction in the following sentence of The Detroit News article mentioned above:
"The lighthouse went on line in 1879, when the channel was due north,"...
The 2006 U.S. Coast Guard LIGHT LIST, Volume VII, GREAT LAKES (Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River above the St. Regis River) is available online as a free pdf file: "Right-click" (Windows users) or "Control-click" (Mac users) here to download. The free Adobe Reader is needed to open that pdf file and it can be downloaded here.
This Web page was compiled and portions were written by Rob Englund.
A portion of Nautical Chart #52 ("Lake Huron from Richmondville to Au Sable Point including Saginaw Bay") from September 1912 shows the location of the Saginaw River Range Lights and shipping channel in the Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay. 
A portion of Nautical Chart #524 ("Saginaw River") from July 1918 shows the location of the Saginaw River Range Lights and shipping channel in the Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay. 