The federal government has been auctioning off Great Lakes lighthouses, including a recent group of lighthouses located offshore.
The North Manitou Shoal Light was in that group and was purchased the nonprofit North Manitou Light Keepers.
The lighthouse is situated just south of North Manitou Island in Lake Michigan, just off the Leelanau Peninsula – about a 15-minute ferry ride away from Leland.
Anna Oginsky is on the board of directors for the North Manitou Light Keepers. She joined Stateside today to explain what motivated them to buy the lighthouse, and what the plans are for its future.
“We are getting to work this summer to start renovating it,” she said. “Our goal is to have it complete by July 2021 so that we can open it to the public for tours and eventually, hopefully, make it so that people can come for overnight experiences as volunteer lightkeepers like they do at other lighthouses around the country.”
For more, including what obstacles come with renovating an offshore lighthouse, listen above.
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