Sand Point Lighthouse / Squaw Point Boathouse

From 1868 to 1939 the Sand Point Lighthouse warned mariners of the spit of land extending into Little Bay de Noc at the entrance to Escanaba Harbor. The U.S. Congress authorized construction of the lighthouse in 1864, shortly after the first railroad began hauling iron ore from the mines to docks at Escanaba. The newly appointed keeper, John Terry, died just before the opening of the light, so his wife, Mary, lit the lamp for the first time on May 13, 1868. Mary Terry served as keeper until March 1886 when she died in a mysterious fire at the lighthouse. In 1939 the new crib light began operating in the harbor. From 1985 to 1990 the Delta County Historical Society restored the lighthouse and tower. Squaw Point Boathouse This boathouse was built at the Squaw Point Lighthouse, on the eastern shore of Little Bay De Noc, in 1897. When Squaw Point was furnished with an acetylene lantern in 1914, that lighthouse was left unmanned, and the boathouse and a motorboat were moved to Sand Point. The Sand Point keeper was given the responsibility of tending the new “Sunvalve” torch at Squaw Point, traveling across the bay each week. The Sand Point Lighthouse served as a hub for supplies, communications, and social support for outlying lights at Poverty Island, St. Martin Island, Eleven Foot Shoal, and Point Peninsula. The keepers at Sand Point often concluded their daily log: “The Lights in this vicinity shone bright this night.”