Mendota (Bete Grise) Light

Mendota (Bete Grise) Light
	Looking across the Mendota Channel
Location	Bete Grise, Delaware, Michigan
Coordinates	47°22′27″N 87°58′00″W / 47.37417°N 87.96667°W
Tower
Constructed	1895
Construction	Brick
Height	42 feet (13 m)
Shape	Square, attached T-shaped bldg. w/steep gable roof.
Markings	Yellow with black lantern
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place
Light
First lit	1895, 1998
Deactivated	1956
Focal height	44 feet (13 m)
Lens	4th Order Fresnel Lens
Range	14 nmi (26 km; 16 mi)
Characteristic	Flash W 20 secs.
	Bete Gris Lighthouse
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Mendota, Michigan
MPS	Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites in Michigan TR
NRHP reference No.	80004840
Added to NRHP	August 29, 1980

The Mendota Light, also known as the Bete Grise light, was built on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan to facilitate travel between Lake Superior and Lac La Belle (an artificial canal having been made to connect the two).

History[edit]

The original plans were laid in 1867 and the lighthouse was constructed in 1869. Only one year later, the light was decommissioned as it was found by navigators to be of no assistance (nor was there any other commercial reason to make this trip).

The tower was removed and taken to Marquette, but the keeper's house remained in place. In 1892, ships tried to use this bay for a safe harbor during a storm, and the seafarers, observing the house (at this point deserted), suggested that the harbor would be easier to find if there was a light present. By 1895, funds had been allocated to re-establish the light, but it was determined that the existing structure had deteriorated so much that it could not be used. A new structure was built using the original foundations.

In 1933 the light was automated and in 1956 it was decommissioned.

It was a private residence until 1996. The lighthouse, only accessible by boat since no roads or private drives lead to it, was for sale in 1996.^[5] It was sold to a person willing to conserve the light. The original fourth order Fresnel lens was found, restored and in 1998 relit.^[6] It is still in place and in use. Efforts are being made to maintain the light for the "next 100 years".

The light is now classified as an active private aid to navigation.^[2]

To view the light, travel to the Keweenaw Peninsula of Upper Michigan to the town of Bete Grise. The road ends at the Mendota Ship Canal. Take the short walk to the Ship Canal. You will see the station boathouse across the Canal, and the Mendota Light itself a little to the east.

National Register Status: PART OF LISTING; Reference #80004840 Name of Listing: HISTORIC ENGINEERING & INDUSTRIAL SITES IN MICHIGAN TR.^[7]

References[edit]

^ Amateur Radio Light House Society.
^ ^a ^b Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.
^ Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Bete Grise Light.
^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ "Lighthouse depot, archive on Mendota light". Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
^ National Park Service, Inventory of Historic Lighthouses, Bete Grise Light.

External links[edit]

Aerial photos, Mendota Light, marinas.com.
lighthousesRus - A map to the Mendota Lighthouse.
Bete Grise Preserve home page
Detroit News, Interactive map on Michigan lighthouses.
Interactive map of lighthouses in eastern Lake Superior.
Lighthouse Central, Mendota (Bete Grise) light The Ultimate Guide to Upper Michigan Lighthouses by Jerry Roach. (Publisher: Bugs Publishing LLC - 2007). ISBN 978-0-9747977-2-4.
Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Bete Grise Light.
Michigan lighthouse fund, Bete Grise Light.
Michigan organizations, Bete Grise Light. Archived 2009-01-26 at the Wayback Machine
National Park Service Haritime Heritage, Inventory of Historic Lighthouses, Bete Grise Light.
Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Bete Grise Light.
"Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Michigan". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01. Bete Grise Light.
Wobser, David, Bete Grise Light (Mendota) boatnerd.com.

[1] Amateur Radio Light House Society.

[navcen.uscg.gov-2] Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.

[3] Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, Bete Grise Light.

[nris-4] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.

[5] "Lighthouse depot, archive on Mendota light". Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2008-05-28.

[6] Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

[7] National Park Service, Inventory of Historic Lighthouses, Bete Grise Light.

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v t e Lighthouses in Michigan
Main: List of lighthouses in the United States
Northern Upper Peninsula	Au Sable Big Bay Point Copper Harbor Copper Harbor Front Range Crisp Point Eagle Harbor Eagle Harbor Range Lights Eagle River Fourteen Mile Point Grand Island East Channel Grand Island Harbor Rear Range Grand Island North Grand Marais Range Lights Granite Island Gull Rock Huron Island Isle Royale Manitou Island Marquette Breakwater Outer Marquette Harbor Mendota (Bete Grise) Munising Front Range Munising Rear Range Ontonagon Ontonagon Harbor West Breakwater Portage River (Jacobsville) Passage Island Presque Isle Harbor Breakwater Light Rock Harbor Rock of Ages Sand Hills Sand Point Light (Baraga) St. Martin Island Stannard Rock Thunder Bay Island Whitefish Point
Southern Upper Peninsula	DeTour Reef Lansing Shoals Manistique East Breakwater Martin Reef Menominee Pier Minneapolis Shoal Naubinway Island Peninsula Point Poverty Island Sand Point Seul Choix Squaw Island St. Martin Island
St. Mary's River	Frying Pan Island Pipe Island Point Iroquois Round Island Light (St. Mary's River) Six Mile Point Range Rear Winter Point Range Front
Portage River/Ship Canal	Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Keweenaw Waterway Upper Entrance Portage Lake Rouleau Point Range Front and Rear Lights
Straits of Mackinac	Bois Blanc McGulpin Point Old Mackinac Point Round Island Round Island Passage St. Helena Island Wawatam
Western Lower Peninsula	Beaver Island Harbor Beaver Island Head Big Sable Point Cedar River Charlevoix Charlevoix South Pier Frankfort Frankfort South Range Grand Haven North Pierhead Grand Haven South Pierhead Entrance Grand Haven South Pierhead Inner Grand Traverse Grays Reef Holland Harbor Ile Aux Galets Little Sable Point Little Traverse Ludington Manistee Pierhead Manning Memorial Mission Point Mission Point (1933) Muskegon Breakwater Muskegon Pier North Manitou Shoal Pentwater North Pierhead Pentwater South Pierhead Point Betsie Portage Lake South Fox Island South Haven South Manitou Island St. Joseph North Pier Inner St. Joseph North Pier Outer Waugoshance White River White Shoal
Eastern Lower Peninsula	Alpena Caseville Harbor Charity Island Cheboygan Crib Cheboygan River Front Range Detroit River Fort Gratiot Forty Mile Point Fourteen Foot Shoal Gibraltar Gravelly Shoal Harbor Beach Lake St. Clair Mariners Memorial Middle Island Miller Memorial New Presque Isle Old Presque Isle Peche Island Rear Range Poe Reef Pointe aux Barques Port Austin Port Sanilac Saginaw Bay Saginaw River Rear Range Spectacle Reef St. Clair Flats Front and Rear Range Light Sturgeon Point Tawas Point Thunder Bay Island Tri-Centennial Light of Detroit William Livingstone Memorial Windmill Point
Historical (lost) lights	Au Sable North Pierhead Belle Isle Clinton River Ecorse Ecorse Range Rear Gibraltar Grassy Island Grassy Island North Channel Range Lights Grassy Island South Channel Range Lights Grosse Ile North Channel Range Lights Grosse Ile South Channel Range Lights Harwood Point East Range Front Kalamazoo River Mama Juda Mama Juda Range Front Manistee Main Middle Lake George Monroe Pier New Buffalo North Manitou Island Saginaw Bay Sand Beach North Entrance East Squaw Point St. Mary's River Lower Range Front Vidal Shoals Channel Range Front and Rear Lights Windmill Point Range Front and Rear Lights
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