Largely through private donations, grants and memberships, North Manitou Light Keeps raised its first million dollars this summer.
Locals call it “The Crib” – a famous lighthouse marking the shallow shoal on the west side of the Manitou Passage that sits in 25 feet of water and threatens shipping lanes.
The name also has to do with its design and how the lighthouse was built. The Crib sits in an intimate location smack dab in the middle of the islands and mainland.
“This large concrete base you see is actually 12-inch pieces of wood. It’s a 65-square-foot box that was actually built in Frankfort,” said North Manitou Light Keepers board member and Delta Pilot Dave McWilliam during a boat tour of the shoal lighthouse on Monday, Sept. 9.
Ninety-one years ago The Crib structure was officially attached to the bottom of Lake Michigan with a 25-foot piling driving into the lake bed.
“The purpose of the lighthouse is to mark the shallow shoal. Off to the right is North Manitou island. The closest sandy point over there is called Dimmicks Point. It’s about a two-mile trek over North Manitou island, but it’s pretty shallow from the lighthouse to going just a couple of feet deep between here and the island ... It also told ships to not come this way to avoid running aground.”
North Manitou Light Keepers started doing tours of the lighthouse four years ago after taking over ownership in 2016.
When the Coast Guard abandoned the lighthouse in the 1980s they boarded up the windows and welded all the doors shut for long term preservation.
The first two years they accessed the lighthouse on structurally attached ladders, while an access door sat wielded shut.
Since opening that door two years ago, traffic has increased with the easier access to tour The Crib.
“There was a crew of three that were stationed out here. Typically, four Coast Guardsmen were stationed and three would be living out here at any given time,” McWilliam said.
The lighthouse was manned starting May 1, 1935 until Dec. 1, 1980 when the last crew was pulled off the lighthouse.
The Crib has the distinction of being the last manned lighthouse on the Great Lakes.
There are still three pieces of navigation equipment in the lighthouse that the coast guard manages including a beacon that flashes red every 15 seconds. There’s also a boater activated foghorn and a transponder (radio beacon).
North Manitou Light Keeper hosts tours on Saturday mornings June and July. They also offer private tours.
“We are still accepting private tours and workers will be out there until weather commits (middle October),” McWilliam said.
The Crib will be focusing on interior construction throughout the fall and 2025 with hopes of having people stay at the remote shoal lighthouse tentatively in 2026.
“A lot hinges on work to get done next year and we are always constrained by weather and length of the season,” McWilliam said.
McWilliam added that the beginning of summer was tough for the non-profit because of weather challenges that negatively affected tours.
In 2023, nine out of 10 public tours were completed, compared to three out of 10 in 2024.
“100% were weather related,” McWilliam said.
South Fox Island
The crew at the Fox Island Lighthouse Association (FILSA) completed the closing of the South Fox Light Station earlier this month.
Jim Greenwell, Tom McBride, Chris Bush of the lighthouse association and Jack White of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources completed the final few trips to the island.
This was a bizarre season, according to Fox Island Lighthouse association director Cathy Allchin.
“In June we wanted to have day trips with visitors and we had rain everyday and a half and winds have been in the wrong direction this summer,” she said.
Although difficult, projects completed this summer include building maintenance and structural improvement to several buildings on state property. A new sidewalk installation and upgraded water system for the remote Leelanau island located 22 miles offshore.
“(The station) is looking really good,” Allchin said.
FILSA took six visitors to the station in August compared to eight last year.
The Lighthouse association will be at the Leelanau Historical Fair in Leland on Saturday, Sept. 21. They will also be at Uncaged in Northport during the last weekend of September with more information about the non-profit organization.
