Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
The U.S. General Services Administration is auctioning the Ontonagon Breakwater Light on the pier sticking out into Lake Superior at the mouth of the Ontonagon River in Ontonagon.
By JAN TUCKER
Ontonagon - A recent announcement by the U.S. General Services Administration about auctioning off lighthouses has brought some confusion in Ontonagon.
While the Associated Press reported "three historic Great Lakes lighthouses owned by the federal government are going on the auction block," the navigational light for sale in Ontonagon is the "breakwater light" on the pier which sticks out into Lake Superior and not the 153-year-old lighthouse on shore closer to the mouth of the Ontonagon River.
The Ontonagon County Historical Society owns the Ontonagon lighthouse and lauds it as the westernmost lighthouse in Michigan.
"We purchased it lock, stock and barrel with a 99-year renewable lease to the land surrounding it," local historian and society official Bruce Johanson said.
Johanson said the item for auction by the government is the pierhead light perched near the end of the pier. It is 119 years old and replaced one built in 1875.
Johanson said the historical society could have bought the pierhead light but dumped the idea when they found it has a $2 million liability policy on it which the buyer must retain. The cost of that policy is $5,000 a year, he said.
Johanson said entrance to the pier light is made by climbing over rocks and taking a ladder to the light itself.
The other two Great Lakes navigation lights up for auction include the Superior Entry lighthouse which sits on a sandbar between Superior, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Minnesota; and the Lake Huron's Poe Reef lighthouse which sits 6 miles east of Cheboygan, Michigan, and guides ships through a hazardous channel.
The U.S. General Services Administration is offering these through an online auction. The requested opening bid for the Ontonagon Breakwater Light is $5,000.
Their lighting mechanisms will continue aiding navigation and will remain the U.S. Coast Guard's property, according to the Associated Press.
The Ontonagon lighthouse is one of the area's most popular tourist attractions, said Johanson. The society provides guided tours which relate the colorful history of the lighthouse, its keepers and the lore surrounding it.
Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
