Granite Island Lighthouse

With the discovery of iron ore in Marquette County around 1840, the area quickly became one of the busiest ports in the Upper Peninsula. Granite Island’s location approximately twelve-and-a-half miles to the northeast represented a major threat to vessels making passage to and from Marquette harbor. On March 2, 1867, Congress appropriated $20,000 for construction of a lighthouse on the island. The lighthouse tender “Haze” delivered a construction crew and building supplies to the island in the spring of 1868, and the crew began construction with the blasting of a flat spot for the structure’s foundation at the island’s highest point.

Note: This is a privately owned island.

Location:
Located on Lake Superior’s Granite Island, 12.5 miles north of Marquette.
Latitude: 46.7208
Longitude: -87.4114