Northern Mich~Mash Preserve
~ MCGULPIN LIGHTHOUSE ~
(AND Other Lighthouse Information)
~ PUBLICLY SPEAKING ~
The design and compilation of the text and photos on this site are copyrighted 2017.
Most posted items will enlarge by "clicking" on them.
"Clicking" on some color highlighted words may access additional information.
Most posted items will enlarge by "clicking" on them.
"Clicking" on some color highlighted words may access additional information.
Please do not copy the photos on this site, many of which have been submitted by private individuals...
just come back and visit the site often to view the photos.
just come back and visit the site often to view the photos.
The McGulpin Lighthouse was built in 1869 for guiding ships through the straits area.
The lighthouse, decommissioned in 1906, and passed into private ownership,
until it was purchased by Emmet County in 2008.
It was among the FIRST deeded properties in both Emmet County and the state of Michigan; dated 1 June 1811.
The lighthouse, decommissioned in 1906, and passed into private ownership,
until it was purchased by Emmet County in 2008.
It was among the FIRST deeded properties in both Emmet County and the state of Michigan; dated 1 June 1811.
History of the McGulpin Point LIghthouse may be accessed by clicking HERE.
Photo Labels Include:
ECBOC = Emmet County Board of Commissioners (Minutes~Legal Documents)
ECBOC Ad-Min = Emmet County Board of Commissioners Administrative (Minutes~Legal Documents)
ECBOC = Emmet County Board of Commissioners (Minutes~Legal Documents)
ECBOC Ad-Min = Emmet County Board of Commissioners Administrative (Minutes~Legal Documents)
Minutes Below: Initiation of purchase of McGulpin Point Lighthouse by Emmet County,
and the purchase price (including a small adjacent section of land)
The minutes seem to not be specific to a purchase price for McGulpin Lighthouse...
BUT, what else could such a particular amount be anticipation????
AND
How does it work to BORROW almost $9 million against anticipated delinquent tax funds?
This probably contributed to the need for the county to hire a forensic auditor to determine where/how
the delinquent tax funds had been spent.
Specific rules/laws apply for the gathering and use of delinquent tax funds...
especially, with the county treasurer being absent from the meeting.
and the purchase price (including a small adjacent section of land)
The minutes seem to not be specific to a purchase price for McGulpin Lighthouse...
BUT, what else could such a particular amount be anticipation????
AND
How does it work to BORROW almost $9 million against anticipated delinquent tax funds?
This probably contributed to the need for the county to hire a forensic auditor to determine where/how
the delinquent tax funds had been spent.
Specific rules/laws apply for the gathering and use of delinquent tax funds...
especially, with the county treasurer being absent from the meeting.
Minutes Below: Conversion of the McGulpin Lighthouse garage into a caretaker's home.
In 2022 this converted garage has become a small rental space.
In 2022 this converted garage has become a small rental space.
Minutes Below: The county's staffing of McGulpin Point Lighthouse began as volunteer docents.
After the Emmet County Chairman Jim Tamlyn's wife was involved in staffing the lighthouse,
the staff positions became hourly paid employees.
After the Emmet County Chairman Jim Tamlyn's wife was involved in staffing the lighthouse,
the staff positions became hourly paid employees.
The two photos below portrayed Patrick McGulpin with several displays at the Pellston Regional Airport in 2012.
Below, also, is a transcription of the text on the display poster ~ author unknown.
Below, also, is a transcription of the text on the display poster ~ author unknown.
"Patrick McGulpin and the British
The British arrived in the Straits of Mackinac and brought a new culture. The British ate different foods, used soldiers with different temperaments, and brought a new language and values. They spun off from soldiering into entrepreneurship and expected more democratic treatment from their government. They married, despite the difficulty of finding a suitable wife, and started large families. The English moved to Mackinac Island and gradually replaced the fur trade with fishing and ultimately tourism.
Patrick McGulpin is the embodiment of the coming change in America
He arrived with the first troops in 1761 as a single, 21-year-old-soldier. He immediately married an Indian wife, started a family, and refashioned himself into a fur trader. Thus as a young man he learned the languages and customs of the Indian residents, lived alongside the remaining French and métis such as Langlade, and witnessed fighting among the military, local civilians and Indian tribes. It was a harsh and primitive time.
He lived to be 91 years old and died on Mackinac Island. He saw the “civilizing” effect of British rule and shifted his political allegiances to the American cause during the War of 1812, when at age 72 he enlisted as an American soldier.
He felt the cultural pressure to take a European wife and he built two large families. He participated in the religious debates between the Protestant British and the Catholic French. And he lived long enough to see this American land become a tourist destination.
Marriage was a dilemma since European women were essentially non-existent yet the Church of England would not sanctify inter-racial marriages.
The English drove out the Middle Ground. They narrowed the cultural diversity by driving all interactions into the English language and British style. Buckskins and finger foods were replaced with fashionable clothing and imported dishes. With the influx of women, family life replaced the predominantly bachelor society. Debauchery was limited to beach front gatherings and the church became more a part of every day life.
Would this have happened if the French had remained in control? Probably, but undoubtedly in a different manner."
The British arrived in the Straits of Mackinac and brought a new culture. The British ate different foods, used soldiers with different temperaments, and brought a new language and values. They spun off from soldiering into entrepreneurship and expected more democratic treatment from their government. They married, despite the difficulty of finding a suitable wife, and started large families. The English moved to Mackinac Island and gradually replaced the fur trade with fishing and ultimately tourism.
Patrick McGulpin is the embodiment of the coming change in America
He arrived with the first troops in 1761 as a single, 21-year-old-soldier. He immediately married an Indian wife, started a family, and refashioned himself into a fur trader. Thus as a young man he learned the languages and customs of the Indian residents, lived alongside the remaining French and métis such as Langlade, and witnessed fighting among the military, local civilians and Indian tribes. It was a harsh and primitive time.
He lived to be 91 years old and died on Mackinac Island. He saw the “civilizing” effect of British rule and shifted his political allegiances to the American cause during the War of 1812, when at age 72 he enlisted as an American soldier.
He felt the cultural pressure to take a European wife and he built two large families. He participated in the religious debates between the Protestant British and the Catholic French. And he lived long enough to see this American land become a tourist destination.
Marriage was a dilemma since European women were essentially non-existent yet the Church of England would not sanctify inter-racial marriages.
The English drove out the Middle Ground. They narrowed the cultural diversity by driving all interactions into the English language and British style. Buckskins and finger foods were replaced with fashionable clothing and imported dishes. With the influx of women, family life replaced the predominantly bachelor society. Debauchery was limited to beach front gatherings and the church became more a part of every day life.
Would this have happened if the French had remained in control? Probably, but undoubtedly in a different manner."
Referencing Below: In questioning who the vendors would be...
the concern was if the vendors would be in Emmet County or a neighboring county?
the concern was if the vendors would be in Emmet County or a neighboring county?
During June 2013 Central Michigan University students performed an archaeological "dig" with great support from county funding and housing at the Beach House. "The test pit survey determined that the eastern most locale for the proposed barn resconstruction was unlikely to impact significant archaeological deposits relating to the McGulpin Lighthouse site or any other cultural period."
The above section of the CMU Archaeological Report covers pages 1 through 46
AND
the section below includes pages 47 through the last page 97.
AND
the section below includes pages 47 through the last page 97.
Ryan Bauman, Emmet County Parks and Recreation Director reported regarding the CMU "dig" above: "CMU returned these items quite some time ago. There is a display board of some of the artifacts in the lighthouse gift shop. We have all of them at McGulpin. There is a complete catalog of them there as well. They are not necessarily worthy of a full display as the majority of them are small little bits and pieces of the items." Ryan continued regarding the photo below:
- Photo taken today (3/10/2021) of the CMU catalogued artifacts, that are currently stored at McGulpin. – 7 boxes.
- Initial inventory listing of items from 2012.
- Secondary inventory listing of items from 2013.
- Final CMU artifact report from 2014.
2009
McGulpin's FIRST light burned lard oil in 1869. Then, about 1880 a kerosene-burning lamp (mineral oil lamp) was installed because it was brighter, and less expensive, than the lard oil. The type lens was important for magnification and direction of the light. Waugoshance had the FIRST Fresnel lens on the Great Lakes, installed in 1851. The Fresnel lens light shone for 18 nautical miles from the McGulpin Lighthouse. The light in the photo below, is a replica that now rests in the all-round windowed tower of McGulpin Lighthouse.
2015 >
The barn at McGulpin is a replica building of a barn back in the day. Only some informational signage is inside. Since this building does not have temp control, all artifacts are inside the Lighthouse,
so no, the barn is not a museum.
(Two Photos Attached Below)
~ Ryan Bauman, Director of Parks and Recreation
so no, the barn is not a museum.
(Two Photos Attached Below)
~ Ryan Bauman, Director of Parks and Recreation
2018
James Davenport and Family
Keepers of McGulpin Lighthouse for 28 Years
Keepers of McGulpin Lighthouse for 28 Years
Information from signage about James Davenport and his family: "James Davenport and his family were keepers of the McGulpin Lighthouse for 28 years. James and Madeline Davenport raised their family in the lighthouse. James had worked on schooners until in April of 1870 they moved to Mackinaw City and he acquires a job as 1st assistant keeper at Waugoshance Shoal Lighthouse at a salary of $400 per year. Madeline and their young family stayed in Mackinaw City during that time. Three years later, James was promoted to keeper at Little Sable Light, a mainland light which accommodated the entire family. In 1879 James swapped jobs with the keeper at McGulpin Point Light to be closer to their extended family. They bought a $100 lot in Mackinaw City across the streeet from the school, an ideal location for a large family of school children. During the winter months James worked as a carpenter and cabinet maker building many of the older homes in town including his own, constructed from wood taken from shipwrecks in the Straits."
Madeline Davenport died during childbirth in 1891 or 1892. James was left with eight children for which to care. James son drowned falling through ice in the Straits of Mackinac in 1898.
Madeline Davenport died during childbirth in 1891 or 1892. James was left with eight children for which to care. James son drowned falling through ice in the Straits of Mackinac in 1898.
As noted in his obituary above, James Davenport was the brother of Mrs. Margaret Morris of Petoskey. Mrs. Margaret Morris' daughter Rosa Morris married Mr. James A. Reid, Petoskey business [Reid Furnshings] and civic leader, identified with Reid's House Furnishings still in existence in 2022.
21 August 2019
Two Photos Below submitted by Pilot and Photographer Charlie MacInnis of Harbor Springs, Michigan
McGulpin Point Lighthouse
Two Photos Below submitted by Pilot and Photographer Charlie MacInnis of Harbor Springs, Michigan
McGulpin Point Lighthouse
Landmark ~ McGulpin Rock
(nine feet tall and weighs 54 tons - 10 times bigger than Plymouth Rock)
Located down the hillside from McGulpin Point Lighthouse.
The McGulpin Rock was used over hundreds of years as a navigational tool,
and to measure the cyclical changes in the depths of the Great Lakes.
(nine feet tall and weighs 54 tons - 10 times bigger than Plymouth Rock)
Located down the hillside from McGulpin Point Lighthouse.
The McGulpin Rock was used over hundreds of years as a navigational tool,
and to measure the cyclical changes in the depths of the Great Lakes.
Nearby Shipwrecks
[Carl D. Bradley, James W. Bennett, Eber Ward, Minneapolis, Cedarville, William H. Barnum]
Signage Below is nearby to the McGulpin Lighthouse...
[Carl D. Bradley, James W. Bennett, Eber Ward, Minneapolis, Cedarville, William H. Barnum]
Signage Below is nearby to the McGulpin Lighthouse...
Click HERE to access additional information about the McGulpin Point Lighthouse and Amenities.