Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2014 All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ =========================================================================== Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== History of St. Clair County, Michigan William Lee Jenks Lewis Pub. Company, Chicago & New York - 1912 [417 - 419] The national government has long had within this county visible evidences of its power and forms of activity. In 1814 in built Fort Gratiot and maintained it for 65 years. PROTECTION OF LAKE COMMERCE From an early date it recognized its obligations for protecting commerce on the Great Lakes, and although the number of boats traversing Lake Huron in 1825 was small, it was determined in the spring of that year that a light house should be erected near the entrance of St. Clair river. Plans were prepared and after adver- tising in the Detroit Gazette, the contract for building and equip- ping the Fort Gratiot light house was let to Winslow Lewis of Massachusetts, who seems to have made a specialty of that line of business. Lewis in turn, employed Daniel Warren of Rochester, N.Y., to construct the light house and keeper's dwelling, and they were finished and the light lit for the first time August 8, 1825. The light house had a diameter at the base of 18 feet and at the top of 9 1/2 feet, with a height of 32 feet from the surface of the ground. EARLY LIGHT HOUSE KEEPERS When completed the building was turned over to Rufus Hatch, who together with Jean B. Desnoyers, a Frenchman who lived on the Bonhomme tract upon which Fort Gratiot was built, operated the light until the arrival on December 2nd of George McDougall from Detroit, who had been appointed the official keeper. Mr. Hatch had applied for the position which paid the munificent salary of $350 yearly, but political pull even in those days had its influence and McDougall had too much pull and secured the place. McDougall was a noted character for many years. Born in 1766 he was the son of George McDougall who came to Detroit in 1761 as a lieutenant in the British army, and married a Mlle. Navarre, daughter of one of the most influential French citizens of Detroit, and who is said to have retained during his entire life his British preferences, but managed to conceal them so successfully that he obtained and held various offices under both state and national governments. He was about five feet nine inches in height, but weighed fully 200 pounds, and during all his latter years was much troubled with the gout. He held a number of offices, civil and military, while living in Detroit, and practiced law there for a number of years after 1811, but was of an extremely irascible temper and although he had a considerable prac- tice, was often in trouble. In 1810 he was a member of the grand jury and caused the judges and Governor Hull to be "presented" on account of tyrannical conduct in office. He was charged with con- tempt, but was discharged. Later, in 1816. he again had trouble with the supreme court by his abusive personalities, and they sus- pended him from practice for a year. This was almost fatal to his business, and not long after his friends interceded for him, he humbly apologized and was reinstated. His habits grew dissipated, his gout came on, his business fell off, and his friends, profes- sional and other, were glad to secure for him this position which proved to be an asylum for the rest of his life, as he continued the keeper of Fort Gratiot light house until his death in October, 1842. Like most office holders, when once settled in his position, he began to think his salary too small, and set about obtaining an in- crease. At that time light houses were under the jurisdiction of the United States treasury department, and the keeper at this point was required to report to the customs collector at Detroit. McDougall arrived at his post December 2nd, and on the 25th he writes to William Woodbridge, later governor and senator of the state, and then the collector, suggesting that there was consider- able traffic across the river, and probably much smuggling, and that it would clearly be to the advantage of the government to have a capable and alert deputy collector on the ground to prevent smug- gling and collect the revenues, and proffering his willingness to accept the position and the emoluments. This suggestion seems to have met with favor, as a little later we find him exercising the duties of collector and receiving the salary of $150 yearly. When McDougall arrived at his post he made it his first duty to thoroughly inspect the buildings and the light, and he made a characteristic report of the results to Collector Woodbridge. He found the tower building differing from the specifications in a number of particulars, especially in the matter of size, which to a man not more than 5 3/4 feet in height and weighing over 200 pounds was of some importance. He says, "I find the third stairs in going up in some places so steep as to compel me to force up sideways and then comes the tug, being a ladder of narrow iron nearly perpendi- cular, leading to a small trap door or entry into the dome which is precisely 18 inches by 21 1/4 inches through which I, with very great difficulty, squeeze up and examine the whole apparatus, and by sitting in one corner on a small circular seat I examined the whole, there being scarcely enough room in this apartment for me to walk around the lamps without rubbing." The tradition goes that this was the only time he did go up to the lamps, but always had that work done by his hired man or helper. Navigation was late that season, as a vessel passed down December 9th. On the 6th the Washington went by loaded with shingles, and on the 9th a vessel supposed to be the Harriet passed down, and upon information supplied by Captain Ward and Mr. Wadhams, that the Commodore Perry was still above, the light was kept burning until after the 15th. This light house not only fell short of the specifications in size, but it was poorly located, being too far to the south, with the result that it was not visible until boats came near the mouth of the river. It seems that the builder used his own discretion in the location, and that considerable fault was found with it, and Mr. McDougall refers to it quite frequently. The foundation was insuf- ficient for such a building, and in the summer of 1828 the keeper reports that the building already has cracks in the walls and sags toward the east. The current was also eating away the ground and in early September came a terrible storm which blew with great fury for three days and nights. At that time Judge Bunce was operating a mill in Burtchville for Thomas S. Knapp of Detroit, and had made a road to it along the lake shore from Fort Gratiot. At one place the road passed through a grove about fifty rods long and twenty-five rods wide, of heavy white oak timber. This grove was entirely swept away by the violence of the storm, which greatly damaged the light house and put it temporarily out of commission, and before it could be repaired, in the latter part of November it fell entirely down. NEW LIGHT HOUSE Steps were immediately taken to have new buildings erected and at a better location, and in April, 1829, a contract was given to Lucius Lyon, afterwards one of Michigan's senators, to build the light house and dwelling house for $4,445. This light house had a diameter at the ground of 25 feet and a height to the focal plane of 69 feet. It was constructed of brick and finished in December of the same year, and with some alterations made in 1861, stands today a solid well-built structure, capable of defying all the winds that blow, and sending out in all kinds of weather its signals of warning to the anxious mariner. The few vessels braving the lakes in 1825, the largest of which did not have a capacity of 100 tons, have given way to the hundreds of immense steel steamers of 250 times their capacity, but the beacon light is as welcome a friend now as then. PRESENT STRUCTURE The present light house stands some distance farther north than did the first one, and upon what was originally a part of private claim No. 244, confirmed to Francois Bonhomme. It lies within the limits of the tract recommended by General Macomb November 10, 1828, to be reserved for military purposes. The light house reservation itself, or that part within the private claim, contained about 50 acres and by act of congress of January 24, 1873, the secretary of the treasury was authorized to plat and sell all the reservation except a small part surrounding the light house buildings. The outfit is known officially as Fort Gratiot Light and is located at latitude 43° 22" N., longitude 82° 24' 44" W. The light itself is of the 3rd order, 2,000 candle power, fixed white, varied by white flash every minute. It is 76 feet in height above the base of the tower, and is visible at a distance of 16 miles. The present dwelling is double, being intended for two families, the keeper and his assistant and was first used in 1825. There is in addition to the light a complete fog whistle outfit. KEEPERS FOR EIGHTY-SIX YEARS George McDougall remained as the first keeper until his death in October, 1842. Owing to his gout and other infirmities, he always employed a helper to do the actual work of caring for the light. For many years Reuben Hamilton, who came up from St. Clair in 1829, per- formed that service, living in the keeper's dwelling, McDougall being always a bachelor. Following McDougall the keepers have been : Col. George McDougall, November 1825, to October, 1842; William Church, October, 1842, to May, 1843; Eber Ward, May, 1843, to July, 1845; William Wright, July, 1845, to June, 1849; Elijah Crane, June, 1849, to December, 1850; William Taylor, December, 1850, to June, 1853; Elihu Granger, June, 1853, to May, 1857; Elijah Burch, May, 1857, to August, 1859; P. McMartin, August, 1859, to July, 1861; Eber Lewis, July, 1861, to September, 1864; Jno. W. Vanhorn, September, 1864, to September, 1865; David W. Cooper, September, 1865, to October, 1865; W. H. Sutherland, October, 1865, to June, 1866; Jno. W. Vanhorn, June, 1866, to November, 1869; John Sinclair, November, 1869, to April, 1881; John Sinclair, Jr., April, 1881, to March, 1882; Israel T. Palmer, March, 1882, to October, 1894; Frank E. Kimball, October, 1894, to date. Assistant keepers (position authorized in June, 1870): Jno. P. Hutton, June, 1870, to April, 1872; Jno. Sinclair, Jr., April, 1872, to April, 1881; Frank Cowan, April, 1881, to April, 1882; Samuel C. Palmer, April, 1882, to May, 1887; Frank F. Palmer, May, 1887, to March, 1888; Daniel Carrigan, March, 1888, to August, 1900; H. N. Burrows, August, 1900, to May, 1901; Otto Redman, May, 1901, to March, 1911; Emil E. Kohnert, March, 1911, to date. ===========================================================================