Crisp Point was one of five Lake Superior U.S. Life-Saving Service Stations along the coast between Munising and Whitefish Point. It is located about 14.5 miles west of Whitefish Point. It was built in 1875 and became operational in 1876 as Life Saving Station Number Ten, of the U.S. Life-Saving Service District 10 (it was later part of District 11) . Crisp Point inherited its name from one of the Life Saving Station keepers, an iron-willed boatman named Christopher Crisp. The other four Life-Saving Stations were Vermillion Point (now Vermilion, which is about 5 miles east of Crisp Point and became operational in 1876), Two Heart River (built 1876), Deer Park (became operational in 1876, formerly Sucker River Station and Muskallonge Lake Station) and Grand Marais (built in 1899 and became operational in 1900).

Crisp Point Lighthouse was first proposed in 1896 and every year thereafter until finally approved in June of 1902. The land was purchased--fifteen acres--at a price of $30.00. The deed was dated May 21, 1903. Originally crowned with a red fixed 360 degree Fourth Order light, the lighthouse tower stands 58 feet from its base to the ventilator ball of the lantern. The tower sits on a concrete foundation 10 feet deep. The Fourth Order Fresnel lens was made by Sautter & Lemonnier of Paris, France. When it was operational, the light produced a focal plane 58 feet above the mean low water level of the lake.

The fog signal building was a brick structure, 22' x 42', with a tin tile roof. A brick service room, built in 1906, was connected to the lighthouse tower. The landing crib was 12' wide by 132' long with a bulkhead 20' square. It was built on the west side of the boathouse, filled with stone, and decked. Groins were installed as part of the shoreline protection. Click here to see a 1936 drawing of the shoreline protection. Click here to see a 1959 drawing of the shoreline structures.

In all, there was a lifesaving station and quarters, a two family brick light keepers' dwelling with basement, brick fog signal building, oilhouse, two frame barns, boathouse and landing, tramway, lighthouse tower and service room entrance. Click here to see a 1903 drawing of the complex by Major Beach of the US Corps of Engineers. Click here to see a front and back view drawing of the light keepers' dwelling. Click here to see side view drawings of the light keepers' dwelling.

The Crisp Point Light Historical Society is a non-profit, charitable organization that has been formed to ensure the continued existence of the lighthouse at Crisp Point, to restore and maintain it for the present and future as a historically significant lighthouse and life saving station of Upper Michigan and Lake Superior. The lighthouse is currently owned by Luce County and The Crisp Point Light Historical Society is leasing the light in 40 year increments. CPLHS is in charge of maintaining, operating, and restoring Crisp Point Light.
 

• 1789 -- The United States Lighthouse Establishment (USLHE) was created and operated under the Department of the Treasury.


• 1852 -- USLHE ends. US Lighthouse Board begins operations under the US Department of Treasury.


• June 1858 -- The propeller Indiana began leaking and foundered just off of Crisp Point. The ship was loaded with 280 tons of iron ore and was downbound from Marquette. Fortunately, no lives were lost. The ship was discovered again in 1975 by sport divers in 118 feet of water. Much was salvaged from the ship in 1979 by the Smithsonian Institute, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Michigan Department of State, the U.S. Navy, and representatives from various Great Lakes maritime institutions. (2)


• November 1864 -- The steamer City of Cleveland grounded on the beach at the mouth of the Two Hearted River, which is about 8.75 miles southwest of Crisp Point. Salvagers eventually made her into a barge. (2)


• November 4, 1869 -- The 426 ton schooner W.W. Arnold was found shattered at the mouth of the Two Hearted River. A northwesterly gale with snow blew for 24 hours. (2)


• May 1870 -- Due to the weather, the 292 ton schooner Southwest went ashore at Vermilion Point, which is about 4.625 miles east of Crisp Point. (2)


• March 24, 1873 -- U.S. Secretary of Treasury Richardson instructs a Board of Life-Saving Officers to survey Lake Superior for suitable locations for lifesaving stations.(2)


• June 20, 1874 -- The U.S. Congress authorized the establishment of four lifesaving stations for eastern Lake Superior at Crisp Point, Vermilion Point, Two-Hearted River, and Muskallonge Lake (aka Deer Park). (2)


• September 1874 -- The location for Crisp Point Life-Saving Station was chosen by Captain J.H. Merryman of the U.S. Revenue Marine. (2)


• 1875 -- Crisp Point Life-Saving Station and the other three stations for eastern Lake Superior were built.


• 1876 -- Crisp Point and the other three eastern Life-Saving Stations became operational.


• March 17, 1877 -- David Grimmond appointed temporary keeper of Life-Saving Station No. 10. He leaves in fall of 1878. (3)


• June 1877 -- The propeller City of New York and schooner America collide just off of Whitefish Point with the City of New York being beached near Vermilion Point. Both were repaired. (2)


• October 27, 1877 -- The small passenger steamer St. Marie (also sometimes called the St. Mary) was nearly blown out of the water near Crisp Point. 34 people were able to wade to shore and walk to a lifesaving station. The vessel was salvagable. (2)


• 1878 -- The US Life-Saving Service is officially organized as a separate agency under the US Department of Treasury. (3)


• June 3-6, 1878 -- Life Saving station crew at Crisp Point builds a tramway between their boathouse and the beach.


• October 3, 1878 -- Christopher Crisp appointed keeper of Life-Saving Station No. 10. (3) Click here to learn more about Christopher Crisp and his family.


• 1883 -- Due to the increasing numbers of Life-Saving Stations being built in the nation and the constant renumbering of stations that had to be done, the naming of Life-Saving Stations by number was ended. Thus Station No. 10 became known as Crisps. (6)


• 1884 -- Uniforms came into use by all members of the Lighthouse Board.


• October 20, 1886 -- The 138-foot, 330-ton schooner-barge Eureka sinks about six miles off Vermilion Point under command of Captain Cartwright with five other crewmen, all of whom drowned. It was being towed at the time by the steamer Prentice, but the tow line had broke during a bad storm. (2)


• June 2, 1887 -- The steamer Argonaut went aground northwest of Crisp Point. (2)


• September 7, 1887 -- The iron-ore laden 205-foot schooner-barge Niagara was being towed by the steamer Australasia when a sudden gale struck and the towline parted. She capsized to starboard under command of Captain Clements several miles from shore off Vermilion Point. Clements and his crew tried to reach shore in a lifeboat, but it capsized and all perished. It is unknown how many people died, but it is reported to be either nine or 10. (2)


• March 18, 1890 -- Christopher Crisp discharged as Life-Saving Station Keeper. (3) Robert Small arrives at Crisp Point on March 18 at 5:30 pm and becomes acting keeper on March 19, 1890.


• April 4, 1890 -- Robert M. Small officially appointed Life-Saving Station Keeper of Crisp Point. Transfers to Station Ottawa Point on November 6, 1896. (3)


• May 4, 1891 -- The 172-foot schooner Atlanta, laden with coal, sinks 20 miles northwest of Crisp Point. Captain James L. Knowlton and his crew of seven make it to Crisp Point in a lifeboat. The Captain wanted to keep going to Whitefish Point where he believed they could have a safer landing, but his crew persuades him to try landing at the Crisp Point Life-Saving Station. As they get closer, the boat capsizes due to the breakers and three of the occupants drown. The remaining four cling to the boat, which rolls over again. Meanwhile, the lifesaving crew at Crisp Point was at supper and the lookout thought the approaching lifeboat was a large pine trunk. An area resident alerts the lifesavers of the people in the water, who then go out into the breakers in their cork lifejackets lead by Captain Small. They rescue two of the crew and have to resuscitate them on shore. Captain Knowlton's body was found by the Crisp Point Lifesavers 18 days later, while another crew member's body was found by the Vermilion Point Life-Saving Station crew on July 20. The Crisp Point lookout who failed to notice the lifeboat was discharged for his failure to spot the boat in time to prevent the capsizing and the subsequent deaths. In all, four men and one woman drown in this unfortunate event. (2)


• September 21, 1891 -- The schooner Mabel Wilson runs afoul of the shoals west of Crisp Point with relatively little damage. (2)


• September 29, 1891 -- The 174-foot schooner Frank Perew goes to the bottom about 15 miles northwest of Vermilion Point. The seven person crew make it in a lifeboat to Parisienne Island (in Whitefish Bay), only to have the boat capsize and all drown with the exception of Charles Larabie. (2)


• 1896 -- Crisp Point Lighthouse first proposed.


• April 2, 1897 -- Harry Gibb appointed Keeper of Crisp Point Life-Saving Station. He resigned on October 20th of the same year. (3)


• November 17, 1897 -- James Hunter appointed Keeper of Crisp Point Life-Saving Station. (3)


• June 1902 -- Congress approved the lighthouse project and appropriated $18,000 for its construction.


• 1903 -- Fog signal building constructed. Fog signal characteristic was: 4 seconds blast, 10 seconds silent interval. 3 seconds blast, 10 seconds silent interval. 3 seconds blast, 30 seconds silent interval. See the recommendation letter here from 1903.


• 1903 -- Boiler destroyed by storm. Machinery for second fog signal installed, new chime whistle replaced standard whistle.


• 1903-1904 -- Lighthouse constructed. Lantern room and fourth order light used from Devil's Island. See letter from 1903 verifying this info: Page 1-Page 2.


• May 5, 1904 -- Lighthouse became operational. First light has a fixed red characteristic. Click here to see a letter from 1903.


• May 31, 1904 -- James Scott appointed as Life-Saving Station Keeper. He is Life-Saving Station Keeper until he leaves in 1915. (3)


• June 8, 1904 -- James Hunter resigns as Life-Saving Station Keeper. (3)


• June 9, 1904 -- James Scott begins first day as Life-Saving Station Keeper at Crisp.*


• 1906 -- Original brick service room built, connected to lighthouse tower.


• 1907 -- Landing crib built.


• 1910 -- US Lighthouse Service is formed out of the former US Lighthouse Board that operated under the US Department of Treasury from 1852-1910.


• January 28, 1915 -- President Woodrow Wilson signed "Act to Create the Coast Guard". US Life-Saving Service becomes part of the US Coast Guard. (3)


• 1915 -- Daniel Shelton (acting) appointed keeper of Crisp Point Life-Saving Station in 1915. (3)


• November 1919 -- The John Owen sinks. William J. Reilly went down with the Owen and his body was not found until the Spring of 1920. He was then buried in the Crisp Point Cemetary. (4)


• June 20, 1920 -- The Crisp Point Light crew of Keeper Crittenden, Lewis N. Clarke, First Assistant Keeper, and Robert G. Somes, Second Assistant Keeper, went to the assistance of the 444-foot steamer F.R. Hazard. It was a foggy day and the steamer and the 380-foot B. Lyman Smith had grazed one another at Whitefish Point. It is unknown what the damages were from this incident. (2)


• April 12, 1924 -- Light characteristic was changed from fixed red to fixed white. Also the illuminating apparatus was changed to an incandescent oil vapor system that increased the light's output from 780 candlepower to 2,900 candlepower. (5)


• November 5, 1925 -- The wooden barge Crane sinks in 25 feet of water as it is being towed by the steamer Herman H. Hettler. Five men and one woman aboard are lost. (4)


• 1928 -- While deer hunting in the Big Tahquamenon Falls area in a large swamp, Roy Singleton found a man lost and took him to Crisp Point where the Singleton family was living. This man was Lou Williams from Ohio, known as the "Buckeye Poet". Mr. Williams had been lost for three days when Roy found him at dusk the third night. Mr. Williams wrote the following poem by the light of an Aladdin lamp and dedicated it to Joseph N. Singleton, Keeper of Crisp Point Lighthouse in 1928:
    CRISP POINT WATCH IS EVER

  Roll Superior, cast thy strength; twisting, raging, turning.
  But the Sailor knows no doubt or fear,
  For through the night comes a glean of cheer - Crisp Point light is burning.
  Rage Superior, spread thy fog, sleet, rain, and snowing.
  But the Sailor sleeps in faith secure,
  Though the stars are gone, the way is sure - Crisp Point horn is blowing.
  Storm Superior, rage and roll. Spread thy vain endeavor.
  Here no tale of death to tell - Crisp Point watch is ever.



• 1930 -- Property and facilities appraised at under $20,000.


• 1939 -- US Lighthouse Service is disbanded and the administration of lighthouses is taken over by the US Coast Guard. (3)


• 1941 -- After two year of planning, the lighthouse was electrified and automated. An electrically lighted bell buoy of 1,475 candlepower was established 10 degrees from Crisp Point in seventy feet of water, near where steamers changed their course, and the fog signal was discontinued before the last keepers were withdrawn. (7)


• 1946 -- Flash characteristic of Crisp Point Lighthouse changes from F1 W 5s to F1 W 6s.


• 1960 -- Crisp Point Life Saving Station site turned over to US Department of the Interior.(3)


• 1965 -- All but light tower and service room destroyed by Coast Guard.


• November 27, 1966 -- On this night, a snow storm took the lives of Faye (Leighton) Purman and Leslie "Doc" Purman along Luce County Road 414 near Pine Stump Junction. The following story is from Carl Bohnak Weather Page. The proprietors of Pike Lake Resort had just closed the place down for the winter, as the last of the deer hunters headed south. Faye Leighton had operated the resort since 1941. A widow for over 20 years, she married a longtime family friend, Leslie "Doc" Purman in 1964. As darkness fell that Sunday evening, the couple left isolated Pike Lake and headed toward Newberry on one of the backwoods roads. They became stuck along the way and apparently decided to walk to the Pine Stump Junction Bar for help. The pair struggled through the biting wind and blinding snow for nearly four miles. Exhausted, they probably decided to rest for a while. Their frozen bodies were found cuddled up in a snowdrift beneath a cedar tree on December 1, three days after the storm ended. Ironically, they were less than a half-mile from their destination. A ferocious gale and snowstorm rendered a short hike an insurmountable obstacle that evening in late November 1966. From "So Cold a Sky, Upper Michigan Weather Stories" by Karl Bohnak.
  
  The following two photos were taken by Ben Musielak in May 2007. purmans1.jpg / purmans2.jpg


• November 10, 1975 -- On this night, the steamer Edmund Fitzgerald sunk during a violent storm. It sunk about 18.3 miles northeast of Crisp Point and about 15 miles west of Deadman's Cove, Ontario, Canada. The crew of 29 were all lost. Flash characteristic of Crisp Point Lighthouse was listed as F1 W 6s on this date.


• 1988 -- Don and Nellie Ross first discover Crisp Point Light.


• 1991 -- Don and Nellie Ross start up Crisp Point Light Historical Society.


• November 8, 1992 -- Crisp Point Lighthouse ends its service as a government automated aid to navigation. (4)


• 1993 -- Crisp Point Lighthouse decommissioned by U.S. Coast Guard. Flash characteristic of Crisp Point Lighthouse at decommissioning was still listed as F1 W 6s.


• November 1996 -- Original brick service room destroyed by erosion, lighthouse tower still intact.


• February 1997 -- Crisp Point Light saved from auction block and private ownership, becomes property of Luce County. County gives 40 year least to CPLHS.


• 1997 -- Cameron Lovett develops a CPLHS website for Don and Nellie Ross to help get the word out about Crisp Point Lighthouse and to help with fundraising efforts.


• January 1998 -- Approximately 1,000 yards (about 50 truck loads) of stone was hauled in from a quarry in Newberry by truck and placed around the lighthouse by contractor John Lechner from Dafter, MI. A heavy duty filter cloth was also placed under the stone. C.P.L.H.S. paid $42,000 for this work to be done. This stone was installed to protect the light from being washed away by Lake Superior.


• 1999 -- County Road 412 extended last 1/2 mile to lighthouse by Luce County Road Commission. Tower repainted. Upper windows installed.
   
• 2000 -- Trees planted to help lessen wind erosion.
   
• 2001 -- Boardwalk constructed.
   
• 2002 -- Benches installed on grounds.
   
• 2003 -- Large stone brought in for erosion control along shore.
   
• 2006 -- More stone brought in to protect east side of tower.
   
• September 2006 -- Construction on replica brick service room to lighthouse begins.


• October 2007 -- Roof and new windows installed on replica brick service room and stone shore protection is repaired on east side of lighthouse.


• May 2009 -- Construction began on visitor's center building.


• 2010 -- Shrubs planted, additional boardwalk and viewing platforms installed. Repaired shoreline stone barrier and added rock by east stairs.
   
• 2011 -- Lighthouse repainted and replaced lantern room windows.
   
• July 25, 2012 -- Private Aids to Navigation (PATON) Permit approved by US Coast Guard to allow operation of a light again at Crisp Point Lighthouse (LLNR 14535) as a Class II PATON from May 1st to November 1st annually, starting in 2013. The light will have a FL W 6s characteristic (flashing white every six seconds) and a range of six miles or less. The Coast Guard wanted the range less than the historic 11 miles so as not to interfere with the light at Whitefish Point.


• November 23, 2012 -- New 300mm LED marine light mounted in lantern room of lighthouse.


• May 4, 2013 -- Crisp Point Lighthouse begins operation as a seasonal PATON. This is the first time the lighthouse has an operational light since 1992.


• 2013 -- During restoration work in the lantern room, it is confirmed that lantern room came from Devil's Island. Picture 1 - Picture 2


• 2014 -- CPLHS submits application for a Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Grant from State of Michigan to perform tower restoration work.


• 2015 -- CPLHS awarded a Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Grant in April 2015 for $25,000 to complete major exterior tower restoration. Grant paperwork arrives in December.


• 2016 -- Major exterior tower restoration and repainting project started by National Restoration, Inc. on June 27, 2016 for a cost of $69,800. Paint was stripped, 1600-1700 bricks replaced, red top repainted, and underside of black metal railing repainted. More rock installed (141 tons) at a cost of $24,000, mainly east of tower by Mountain Stone.
   
• 2017 -- Major interior restoration and painting completed. More rock (295 tons) for erosion control installed at a cost of $35,000, mainly east of tower by Mountain Stone. Boardwalk east of tower repaired and re-routed.
   
• Spring 2021 -- State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) announces $60,000 grant to CPLHS for exterior restoration project to be completed by September 2023.
   
• July 2021 -- More rock (192 tons) for erosion control installed in front of tower and east of tower by Mountain Stone for a cost of $40,000.
   
• August 2022 to June 2023 -- Exterior tower restoration by National Restoration for a cost of $115,000. Completed paint removal, replacement of about 1278 bricks, replacement of about 150 square feet of mortar joints, and limewash applications.