Mission Point Light

Mission Point Light is a lighthouse located in the U.S. state of Michigan at the end of Old Mission Point, a peninsula jutting into Grand Traverse Bay 17 miles (27 km) north of Traverse City. When it was built in 1870, it was an exact copy of the Mama Juda Light (now destroyed), which was built on the Detroit River in 1866.

The foundation is natural and emplaced. The wooden structure is painted white with black trim. The square tower is attached to a dwelling.

A fixed white Fifth Order Fresnel lens was installed. The building was only one and one half stories tall. However, its placement on a sand bank 14 feet above the lake's surface created a lens focal plane of 47 feet (14 m). It was visible from 13 miles (21 km) at sea. Maintaining the dune and protecting it and the lighthouse from the deleterious effects of wave action has been a constant struggle.

For 63 years the light served to warn mariners about the shoals off the point. It was a working lighthouse from 1870 to 1933 when it was decommissioned. However, new techniques in offshore construction and the automation of lighthouse illumination made it possible to build a navigation aid on the shoal itself. In 1938, work was completed for the new stationary buoy light in 19 feet (5.8 m) of water, about 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of Mission Point. The light ran on batteries. It was on a 36-foot (11 m) tall tower, and its focal plane of 52 feet (16 m) help make it visible for 13 miles (21 km). It had a 30-second dwell time between flashes, in order to conserve power. It is still maintained by the Coast Guard today and only shines North.

Famously, the lighthouse stands a few hundred yards south of the 45th parallel north, halfway between the North Pole and the Equator. The lighthouse was deactivated in 1933 and purchased by the State of Michigan. There are a pair of signs that denote its location on the parallel, and it is one of 29 places (six are in Michigan) in the U.S.A. where such signs are known to exist. In 1948, 43 local residents pooled their money to buy the lighthouse and then the Peninsula Township bought the lighthouse to restore the building.