White River Lighthouse

Whitehall, Michigan - 1875 (1875**)

 
Photo of the White River Lighthouse.
 
 
   

History of the White River Lighthouse

Dennis Kent sent a picture and some interesting history of this lighthouse:

Increasing lumber commerce was the reason for establishing a beacon on the channel that connected White Lake and Lake Michigan in 1871. In 1875 the castle-like lighthouse was built with a fourth order Fresnel-Lens. A similar style light is in Eagle Harbor in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The first keeper, Captain Robinson and his wife, Sarah had thirteen children in the small quarters. The Captain served for 47 years.

It was decommissioned in 1960 and is now a museum of the Fruitport Township, Whitehall, Michigan. It is open to the public with the original lens is on display. Admission is just $2.

Directions: From US-31 heading north out of Muskegon, exit at West White Lake Drive and head west for about 4 miles. At the corner of South Shore Drive, make a left and follow that 3.6 miles until the intersection with Murray Drive. (Murray Drive is across the intersection.) We then followed Murray Drive for about a mile, and then made a left onto Beech Lane. This led us right up to the White River Lighthouse.

View more White River Lighthouse pictures
Tower Information
Tower Height: 38.00'
Focal Plane: 33'
Active Aid to Navigation: Deactivated (1960)
*Latitude: 43.37400 N
*Longitude: -86.42400 W
See this lighthouse on Google Maps.

 


* Please note that all GPS coordinates are approximated and are meant to put you in the vicinity of the lighthouse, not for navigation purposes.

** This year denotes a station date. This is the year that a lighthouse was first reported in the vicinity or at that location.

All photographs and information on this site is copyright © 2016 Bryan Penberthy unless otherwise specified. No content may be used without written permission. Any questions or comments, please email me.