Sand Point Lighthouse, Escanaba, Michigan Postcard

"Sand Point Lighthouse, Escanaba, Michigan" by Catherine Sherman. The Sand Point Lighthouse, a tall white lighthouse with a red roof, stands on a lush green lawn under a clear blue sky in Escanaba, Michigan. Trees and a white fence frame the scene, adding to the idyllic rural setting. The Sand Point Lighthouse was constructed in 1867 and first lit in 1868. It was deactivated in 1939 and is now a museum. It's located on Lake Michigan's northern shore. It's on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Michigan State Historic Site. John Terry was appointed the first lighthouse keeper of the new lighthouse in December 1867, but he became very ill and died in April 1868 a month before the lighthouse was ready to be staffed and operated. With the lighthouse nearly completed but with no lightkeeper ready to report to duty, John Terry's wife, Mary, was appointed lightkeeper and subsequently became one of the first female lightkeepers on the Great Lakes. Mary Terry was a well-respected citizen in the community and fulfilled her duties as lightkeeper with efficiency and dedication. She was lightkeeper from 1868 to 1886, when a mysterious fire severely damaged the lighthouse and took her life. A total of nine lightkeepers and their families lived in the Sand Point Lighthouse from its inception in 1868 to its deactivation in 1939. It was in this year that the United States Coast Guard took over all navigational lights in the country from the National Lighthouse Service. The Coast Guard constructed an automated crib light several hundred feet offshore, which replaced the function and duties of the Sand Point Lighthouse and its lightkeeper. The automated crib light is still in use today and can be seen from the tower of the Sand Point Lighthouse.