The Poverty Island Light was deactivated in 1976 and is in poor condition. (Photo courtesy of the National Park Service/David Cooper)

LANSING – The book “Mastering the Inland Seas” (University of Wisconsin Press, $36.95) helps explain the history of Great Lakes lighthouses and navigational aids and the importance of protecting them. 

Historically, lighthouses, powered by whale oil and kerosene, helped large commercial vessels navigate the harsh environment of the Great Lakes. Due to the declining number of commercial vessels and advancements in navigation technology, though, these lighthouses have become a problem for the National Park Service.

Author Theodore Karamanski, a retired professor of public history at Loyola University Chicago, said, “They wanted to see what we need to know to evaluate any of them to be landmarks.”

While some of these lighthouses are on the National Register of Historic Places, that does not guarantee protection. 

As a result, Karamanski was selected to work on a project to research and learn how these lighthouses fit into American history and determine if any warranted National Historic Landmark status.

Despite the shrinking numbers of commercial vessels and the advancement in GPS and satellite navigation, lighthouses still help recreational boaters, along with preserving a historical period of navigational aid development.

“Lighthouses are still important,” said Karamanski. “So, even though the commercial traffic on the lakes has really declined, there is a tremendous recreational traffic on the lakes now.”

“Almost all the lights on the Great Lakes – there’s a couple that have gone dark – but most still remain lit, but with solar panels,” he said.

Nathan Nietering, a project coordinator in the State Historic Preservation Office, a branch of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., agrees that lighthouses serve important purposes.

“Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state,” says Nietering. “So much of our culture revolves around the Great Lakes. It feels like there is always a lighthouse somewhere nearby, and many have absolutely fascinating histories.”

“If the lighthouse didn’t exist, you would lose that sense of place, and you would lose that part of the story.”

Nowadays, many lighthouses along the Great Lakes coastline are at risk of being unprotected due to the federal government’s initiatives to privatize and shift control of them to private citizens and organizations.

David Cooper, who retired from the National Park Service, says money is a reason that keeping the lighthouses in good condition has been difficult for the federal government.

“The government can’t afford to keep as many of these things in operation,” said Cooper. 

“The Coast Guard mission has changed, and this has affected both aids to navigation and their search and rescue capabilities. They still do great work, but they don’t have all the money they need.” 

“The Park Service doesn’t have a fraction of the money that it would need to accomplish its mission,” Cooper said. 

This, according to Karmanski and Cooper, would mean the Midwest risks losing a symbol of the feat of human engineering tied to the growth of community along the Great Lakes.

Cooper says that the interior and exterior of few lighthouses are in good condition. 

“Only a few of the lights are going to get tip-top care,” he said, “Many are in what I would call a three-star category where maybe the exterior of the building is well-cared for, but there is relatively little preservation work done on the inside.”

What really scares Cooper, though, is “one-star or below category” lighthouses where nothing is being done to the interior and exterior, such as Poverty Island Light on Lake Michigan.

Despite the difficulties of keeping them in good shape, Nietering says that’s a priority for the state.

Initiatives such as the Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program and the Save Our Lights program have raised money for maintenance, and motorists can purchase a custom Save Our Lights license plate to help fund rehabilitation efforts.

Despite such efforts, Karamanski says more needs to be done to attract attention to the problem.

“In 20 years, they won’t be able to do that anymore,” said Karamanski. “It’s one thing to say, ‘Here is a group of people who will take care of it.'”

“I don’t think they fully appreciate that if we are going to try to keep these lighthouses in their current shape, it’s going to take a lot of money.”

Joshua Kim writes for Great Lakes Echo