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In 1938 Julius Thorson bought swampland on Lake Superior, west of Munising, Michigan. He built a factory there to make gifts and he targeted the holiday trade by naming the site CHRISTMAS. Two years later Thorson's factory was wiped out by a fire.
This was not the first blaze to destroy a business at this location. The Bay Furnace Company opened a blast furnace here in 1869 to manufacture charcoal for Upper Peninsula ironmakers. It too was destroyed by a fire in 1877.
The only landmark, or daymark, to mark the site is the Grand Island Harbor Rear Range Light. The beacon has also been referred to as the Bay Furnace Light because the area was known by that name because of its relation to the furnace company. The tower is several yards south of Highway M-28, across the road from a sign that says "Welcome To Christmas."
In 1988 John Franzen, Cultural Resource Specialist, Hiawatha National Forest, reported the following:
"This light is a 62-foot high conical steel structure built in 1914. By aligning this light and a front range light which stood closer to the shore, mariners were able to keep the narrow channel west of Grand Island which leads to Munising Bay. The official light list for 1915 indicates the light was visible for 16 miles.
This metal tower replaced a wood frame tower and attached dwelling which were built in 1868.
"This structure is one of the tallest light towers on the Great lakes using riveted steel plate technique. The basic structure consists of six 4 x 4-inch metal struts covered by 1/2-inch steel plate and bolted to a concrete foundation.
"The top portion (approximately 32 feet high) once stood at another location. The original lettering on the plans is: 'Vidal Shoals Range Lt. Sta., Mich.' The original door used when the upper portion stood at another location can still be identified by the outline of the rivets used to seal the opening." (Note: Vidal Shoals is in the general vicinity of Saulte Ste. Marie, Mi.)
The "Christmas Light" was transferred to the US Forest Service in 1977 who subsequently restored and repainted the black and white range light. Other lighthouses within the Hiawatha National Forest are: Round Island in the Straits of Mackinac, Point Iroquois on the St. Marys River at Whitefish Bay and Peninsula Point at the entrance to Little Bay De Noc on Lake Michigan near Escanaba. The US Forest Service recently acquired Grand Island in Munising Bay that has a pair of lighthouses but they are privately owned.
The Point Iroquois site provides a novel lighthouse experience. Visitors at the light station can see another light station, Canada's Gros Cap light in the St. Marys River.
Also unique is that Michigan's Upper Peninsula is the only region in the country where the US Forest Service maintains lighthouses. The USFS had an earlier connection to lighthouses. The present day US Coast Guard was formed in 1915 when the US Revenue Cutter Service was combined with the US Life Saving Service. On March 3, 1915 an Act of Congress provided for cooperation between the US Lighthouse Service and the US Forest Service in the management of forest land on lighthouse reservations. The USLhS was absorbed by the Coast Guard in 1939. In more recent history the four upper peninsula lights were transferred from the Coast Guard to the Forest Service.
Not only does Smokey the Bear help prevent forest fires; he helps preserve lighthouses surrounded by forests.
This story appeared in the June 1996 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
All contents copyright © 1995 - 2003 by Lighthouse Digest®, Inc. No story, photograph, or any other item on this website may be reprinted or reproduced without the express permission of Lighthouse Digest. For contact information, click here.
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