Keepers of the Michigan City Light

Three seconds on. One second off. The beacon of the Michigan City lighthouse shines across the water of Lake Michigan. You can tell it's Michigan City by the flashing of the light. Our light blinks with longer periods of light than periods of darkness. Over a repeating four seconds, Michigan City's light shines three seconds on, one second off. Eight keepers maintained Michigan City's beacon from 1837 to 1940. Their story can be broken into three chapters. Native people and newcomers were drawn to the natural harbor of Trail Creek, so it's no surprise that one of the first acts of Indiana's frontier legislature was to construct the state's first lighthouse. The harbor was a hit, and soon Michigan City had its place on the map. A second lighthouse was constructed in 1858 by the federal government under the recently established Lighthouse Board. The 1858 lighthouse still stands today. In 1904, the beacon was moved to the newly constructed pierhead. This lighthouse was a marvel of the modern age. Cheap steel allowed the Lighthouse Board to build lighthouses close to the water without worrying about their bricks washing into the waves. If you go out to the lighthouse tonight, you'll see an LED light that blinks on for three seconds and off for one. This automated light shines as a memorial to the lighthouse keepers who tended the light for 97 years. Who were they? What was their work like? What stories did they tell? The answers to these questions are central to this digital exhibit on the keepers of the Michigan City's light.

Newcomers settled along Trail Creek and recreated the communities they lived in on the Atlantic coast: they farmed traditionally European grains, constructed buildings with lumber and bricks, and formed social groups for worship and learning.

A lighthouse was a common feature in coastal cities and newcomers were quick to mark their place on the map by constructing one in Indiana.

By the 1850s, many of the rudimentary lighthouses constructed on Lake Michigan began to show their age. The newly established Lighthouse Board commissioned new lighthouses to replace the ones built in the 1830s, including the Michigan City Light.

The first lighthouse keeper to work under the new Lighthouse Board was also the first to work in the newly constructed 1858 lighthouse. John M. Clarkson served as keeper from 1853 to 1861 and lived in the lighthouse with his wife and eight children.

Under the new Lighthouse Board, his responsibilities included lighting the lamp, keeping the wick uniformly trimmed, ensuring that the Fresnel lens was spotless, and generally maintaining the light station.

In the first decade of the 20th century, the Great Lakes Lighthouse District redesigned the light stations along Lake Michigan’s eastern shore. From Muskegon to Michigan City, piers reached further into the lake to allow for bigger, deeper harbors. The Board constructed steel catwalks and tall towers with steam powered fog whistles. Originally, the pierhead light was painted the same beige color as the 1858 Lighthouse in order to maintain consistent day marks (the markings on a lighthouse that allow sailors to identify where they are while the sun is up).

Harriet Colfax was 80 years old when she extinguished the Fresnel lens for her last time. Soon, the lens was moved to the pierhead where the remaining three keepers and their assistant keepers maintained it until the light station closed in 1940. The lighthouse was moved from the keepers' residence to the end of the pier. Many other light stations demolished their old lighthouses, but the Michigan City Light Station remodeled the old lighthouse into a duplex for the keepers and assistant keepers.

One by one, keepers were replaced by automated lighthouses along Lake Michigan’s shore. Commercial traffic on the Great Lakes decreased and soon lighthouses became little more than decorations. Historical Societies and lighthouse enthusiasts stepped in to protect these priceless cultural artifacts. Capital campaigns to restore steel catwalks allowed people to continue walking along the century old piers. In Michigan City, the Historical Society restored the 1858 lighthouse and opened the Old Lighthouse Museum in 1973. By 1994, the Michigan City Historical Society led the charge to restore the catwalk. Other cities along the coast restored their steel pierhead lights. Today, crowds gather along the wall of the harbor as the sun begins to set. We pull out our phones and record short videos to share with friends and family on social media. If you stay long enough, you’ll see the Michigan City Light blink its familiar pattern–three seconds on, one second off–and you’ll know you’re home.

Learn more about the Michigan City Light at the  Old Lighthouse Museum  or by joining us for our Fall Course,  Lighthouses: An Introduction from A to Z .