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There are thousands of short stories in the lighthouse logbooks filed in the National Archives located in Washington, DC. This is one story.
It started in the summer of 1872 and was seen by the keeper of the light on Grand Island, Michigan. The island is ten miles long and overlooks Lake Superior near the upper peninsula. The natural wilderness of the Hiawatha National Forest is directly south of the station.
On July 22, 1872, the keeper made the following entry in the logbook: "Although it is out of place, I not having received this book before the 18th, I think it well to mention that on the 12th of this month, a dark body appeared in the sky about Southeast from this light 10:40 a.m. I kept my eyes upon it thinking that is was the blackest thundercloud I had ever seen. All of a sudden a tremendous flame burst from this dark opaque body and left hour and a half after the explosion. At 11:10, we heard a noise similar to the report of a thousand big guns. The sky was perfectly serene and clear at the time."
Looking at the map of Michigan, one notes that the area southeast of Grand Island would have been uninhabited forest. What did he see? His vivid description sounds very much like a large rocket ship by today's standards. Anyone who has ever seen a rocket launch at Cape Kennedy would certainly describe the sound as the roaring of a thousand cannons. But wait a minute, the keeper reported this event 31 years before the Wright Brothers made their first flight. He wouldn't know anything about rockets. Would he?
Two hundred twenty miles south of Grand Island lies the port city of Muskegon. It's on the western side of the main peninsula looking out on Lake Michigan. The Muskegon South Pier Head Light was a detached tower made of brick, standing watch over the entrance to the busy port.
Forty four days later, keeper Henry L. Warren made this entry:
"August 25, 1872. A singular phenomenon occurred this eve between 8 and 9 p.m. A long and narrow light luminous cloud arose in the East and passed nearly over the lighthouse and disappeared in the West and was only 15 or 20 minutes from the rising to the setting."
Directly east of Muskegon is fairly flat land and to the west is the lake. So, the keeper would have had a very long view of the horizons. What could have been traveling at such a speed as to have passed from the eastern horizon to the western horizon in just 15 minutes?
Was it possible that visitors from a distant galaxy were the first early tourists to visit Michigan? The two sightings occurred within six weeks of each other in the same general vicinity. Is this just a coincidence or are they perhaps related? Or did the keepers simply experience the wonders of nature? It remains a mystery. It should be noted, however, that neither keeper ever made such strange entries in their respective logbooks during the remainder of their watches at the lighthouses. What do you think they saw?
Michigan's Grand Island Lighthouse. Was the lighthouse visted by aliens in 1872. You be the judge!
This story appeared in the June 1999 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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