WayfarrowCharity Island Light
Lighthouse · Arenac County, Michigan
Charity Island Light is a lighthouse in Arenac County, Michigan. Michigan has 124 lighthouses on record at Wayfarrow, 2 of them in Arenac County.
It was built in 1857, in the Civil War era, making it the 5th oldest of the 89 in Michigan with a recorded construction date; its light sits 46 feet above the water; it guards Lake Huron; it was deactivated in 1939.
Status check, 2026-11: The 1857 brick tower is the only original structure left on the island, and the keeper's house has been rebuilt as a replica. Sources disagree on the height: 39 ft per USLHS and LighthouseFriends, 45 ft per Wikipedia, which may be the focal height or a later addition to the tower. It is not reachable by road: the nearest road is about 7 miles away, so it is seen from shore or reached by water. It stands at 44.0375° N, 83.4411° W.
Key facts
| Current structure built | 1857 |
|---|---|
| Focal height | 46 ft |
| Deactivated | 1939 |
| Body of water | Lake Huron |
| Coordinates | 44.03750, -83.44111 |
Nearby places
- Gravelly Shoal Lightlighthouse · Arenac County · 5 mi
- Caseville Harbor Lightlighthouse · Huron County · 10.2 mi
- Tawas Point Lightlighthouse · Iosco County · 15 mi
- Port Austin Lightlighthouse · Huron County · 23 mi
- Pointe aux Barques Lightlighthouse · Huron County · 32.2 mi
- Saginaw River Rear Range Lightlighthouse · Bay County · 34.5 mi
- Bangorghost town · Bay County · 35.5 mi
- Hard Luckghost town · Gladwin County · 37.5 mi
- Harbor Beach Lightlighthouse · Huron County · 42.5 mi
- Sturgeon Point Lightlighthouse · Alcona County · 47.3 mi
Questions
Where is Charity Island Light?
Charity Island Light is in Arenac County, Michigan, at 44.0375, -83.4411.
How many lighthouses are in Arenac County?
Arenac County, Michigan has 2 lighthouses on record at Wayfarrow.
- Wikidata — Wikidata item (CC0)
- Wikidata — Wikipedia article (linked as a source; text not used) (CC0)
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.