Grand Haven Lighthouse & Pier
Photo Courtesy of Tri-Cities Historical Museum
The History of Grand Haven Lighthouse & Pier
Grand Haven-In The Path of Destiny
by David H Seibold, D.D.S.
Grand Haven-In The Path of Destiny
by David H Seibold, D.D.S.
LIGHTHOUSE
The Port of Grand Haven had its first lighthouse in 1839, which was built on the beach were today’s Oval is located. It consisted of a five-room cottage for the keeper with a separate light tower. Within a few years the error of the location became apparent and a seawall was built to protect the light tower. Erosion continued and in 1852 a late fall storm took out the seawall on December 6. The storms persisted and, although ice banks slowed the process, less than two weeks later, on December 17, 1852, the tower and cottage collapsed. The Port of Grand Haven was without a beacon for the next three years.
A second light with an adjoining keeper’s dwelling was built in 1855 on the bluff behind and 150 feet above the beach. It was equipped with a $4,000 lenticular French Fresnel lens that reflected light visible for 25 miles under clear conditions. On May 10, 1856 a rotating light was installed which was regulated by a clock work that produced a flash every 1.5 minutes. Seaman were guided by the reassuring beacon for the next 50 years.
When the South Pier was completed to its present length in 1893 it was equipped with a pier-head light. However, the Bluff Light remained the main port beacon until 1905. In the fall of 1904 a 52-foot steel tower was placed on the end of the South Pier and on January 12, 1905 the Fresnel lens was moved from the bluff to the new tower. Everyone, it seemed, knew of the switch except the ship captains, who had not been notified. When the Crosby and Goodrich steamers came into port that night the captains were totally confused and would have grounded had then not been familiar with the port. When the boats docked the air was blue as the captains voiced their opinions about eh debacle.
In 1907 the South Pier tower and light was moved 600 feet back from the end of the pier to its present location.
In 1910 the Bluff Light’s brick tower was torn down and replaced by a brick addition to the living quarters. It served as a residence for the lighthouse keeper and his family until 1939 when the Light Service became part of the Coast Guard. In 1956, the 13-room structure was converted to apartments and continues as a residence today at 900 Harbor Avenue.
FOGHORN
Fog has been the age-old curse of the seaman. Through the years several fog alert devices had been tried at American ports and shoal waters-cannons in the 1700s: hand rung bells; wave activation bells; in 1851 mechanically operated bells; foot operated horns; steam whistles by 1855 and by 1868 sirens had been tested.
In 1895 the fog alert at Grand Haven was a steam siren which blasted in the key of F for 5 seconds at intervals of 35 seconds. The steam was produced by an on-site coal-fired boiler. In 1905 the power was converted to two large kerosene engines that generated compressed air for the siren. Both the lighthouse and the fog signal required on-site manpower. A catwalk built above the pier made it possible to reach both under all weather conditions.
In 1922 the end of the South Pier was rebuilt with a new concrete pier head. The old original foghorn house-built in 1875 and still in use today-was placed on the new pier-head and equipped with a state-of-the-art foghorn. The horn was a diaphone type activated by an electric air pump. On December 7, 1922 the fog horn emitted its first resonant mournful "beeeeeeoooooo" sound which became so familiar to residents for miles around the harbor.
CATWALK LIGHTS
CATWALK LIGHTS
On December 2, 1969, the lighthouse and foghorn were automated for all atmospheric conditions. This made the Catwalk obsolete and there were plans for its removal. The pier lighthouse and foghorn house were celebrated landmarks of the City. The townspeople considered the Catwalk equally historic and were not willing to give it up so easily. Fueled by a groundswell of public sentiment, the City’s petitioning to the Coast Guard and Corps of Engineers put the demolishing of the Catwalk on hold.
Grand Haven had been the home port of the Cutter Escanaba since 1932. With war looming, on October 6, 1940 Escanaba had steamed out of the Grand Haven headed for dry dock at Manitowoc to be refitted for war duty, part of that refitting being the replacement of all her wood with steel. She had two wooden masts; one of which had a mast-head light referred to as the “smoking light” or “munitions loading light.” When the two wooden masts were replaced with a single metal mast, the “smoking light” was scrapped. Steve Vozar, who was stationed aboard Escanaba 1936-42, reclaimed the light from the junk pile and put it in his duffle bag.
Escanaba was lost in the North Atlantic June 13, 1943 with only two survivors. Vozar had been taken off the Cutter for back surgery just months before the sinking and survived the war. After retiring from the Coast Guard he and his wife, Sadie, settled in Grand Haven. When there was talk about lighting the catwalk to save it permanently, Vozar showed the old “smoking light” to a group of his retired friends. It was the perfect answer. The group took their idea to manufacturer Ed Zenko who saw the potential immediately and with Zenko’s leadership and shop equipment the light was replicated by the senior volunteers. Permission was then granted to place replicas-some 120 of them-along both sides of the Catwalk and the Board Walk to give the harbor entrance a distinctive illumination.
Photos by: Ed Post
The idea of linking Escanaba to the Catwalk and pier was infectious and received enthusiastic public support. Unfortunately, Ed Zenko died December 31, 1987, 11 months before the completion of the venture. Ed’s daughter, Terry Fenlon, took over as chairperson and guided it through to a successful conclusion. The Catwalk lights were first turned on November 25, 1988. It is a beautiful melancholy link with the Port’s heritage-a nostalgic Escanaba welcome to Coast Guard City, U.S.A.
The idea of linking Escanaba to the Catwalk and pier was infectious and received enthusiastic public support. Unfortunately, Ed Zenko died December 31, 1987, 11 months before the completion of the venture. Ed’s daughter, Terry Fenlon, took over as chairperson and guided it through to a successful conclusion. The Catwalk lights were first turned on November 25, 1988. It is a beautiful melancholy link with the Port’s heritage-a nostalgic Escanaba welcome to Coast Guard City, U.S.A.
