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NOVEMBER 2022 | GREAT LAKES BOATING 55 www.GreatLakesBoating.com Lighthouses Of The Great Lakes By Joan Wenner, J.D. AU SABLE LIGHT AU SABLE LIGHT STATION STATION Joan Wenner, J.D., is a native New Yorker with a law degree and a long-time contributor to boating and history publications. Comments are welcomed at joan_writer@yahoo.com. O rlando Metcalfe Poe had special skills, particularly in engineering. Born in 1832 on an Ohio farm, the "lighthouse man" gained recognition that continues today. Having excelled in math at West Point, he was appointed upon grad- uation to the Union Army's Corps of Topographical Engineers in Detroit. It is here where his extensive survey work of the Great Lakes ended when the Civil War began and his duties pivoted to structures to aid the military and battlefield topographic maps. In 1865, with the war over, he became Engineer Secretary of the Lighthouse Board and was selected in 1870 as Chief Engineer of the Upper Great Lakes Lighthouse District. This included responsibility for all lighthouse construction. Poe designed the "Poe Style" tower having a gentle taper from bottom to top and featur- ing graceful embellishments such as masonry gallery support corbels and arch topped windows rarely found on lighthouses. Said to be one who did not skimp on costs, Poe's Spectacle Reef Lighthouse at the treacherous waters of Lake Huron (eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac) was the most expensive con- struction project of its day. Four years and eight lights later he was advising on engineering and se- curity for four transcontinental rail- road lines. Then in 1884 the 'visionary engineer' returned to the Great Lakes, designing massive locks for shipping. The well-known Au Sable Light Sta- tion–meaning "by sand" and preserved by the Park Service–is but one of his remarkable "towers" for guiding mari- ners along the shores of Lakes Superi- or, Michigan and Huron. The 87-foot structure extends 23 feet underground and is anchored in bedrock. Constructed of wood, cast iron and Wisconsin Cream City bricks, it opened in 1874 and was automated in 1958. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.