"Winter Moonlight", Big Sable Pt. Lighthouse, Lake Michigan

It’s a quiet moonlit winter night in 1967 at the Big Sable Point Lighthouse on the northeast shore of Lake Michigan in Ludington, Michigan.  It is the last year the lighthouse is civilian manned, being fully automated in 1968.  It continued to be staff by the U.S. Coast Guard for 4 more years.

The lighthouse tower, constructed in 1867, was originally built of brick.  Due to weather deterioration, the tower was fully encased with steel plates in 1900. It was the last on the Great Lakes to be electrified, and one of the few Michigan lighthouses with a tower height over 100 feet.

The site, now part of the Ludington State Park, has undergone several refurbishments and expansion over the years, with the last major performed in 1987...which include repairing the seawall and replacing the original Fresnel Lens.

It is open to visitors from May through October who can tour both the tower and original keeper’s quarters.