South Fox Island Light

Perched on South Fox Island in Lake Michigan at the north end of the lake, the South Fox Island Light served as a marine beacon for navigation along Michigan’s shoreline.

The original light was housed in a square brick tower attached to the keeper’s house; the tower rose 39 ft and the light’s focal plane sat 68 ft above the water. In 1934 a second tower, a pyramidal iron skeleton frame brought from Sapelo Island, Georgia, replaced the first as the active beacon; it stands 60 ft tall with its light positioned 89 ft above the lake. The light was equipped with a fourth‑order Fresnel lens.

Congress appropriated $18,000 in 1867 for construction, and the brick tower was first lit in November 1867. The keeper’s house and tower were built of Cream City brick and used a fourth‑order Fresnel lens to produce a flashing red beacon. A steam‑whistle fog signal was added in 1895, replaced by a diaphone horn in 1929, and the lantern was converted from kerosene to electricity. The original tower was decommissioned in 1934 when the iron skeleton tower took over. The station was automated in 1958 and the light discontinued in 1969.

Both structures remain on the island but are no longer operational. The surrounding land was transferred to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in 1971, and the light station itself was transferred to the state of Michigan in 1980. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021. The historic towers stand as a reminder of the region’s maritime heritage.

Light and tower

It lies on Lake Michigan. The light has a focal height of 11.9 metres. Its recorded status is inactive.