WayfarrowWaugoshance Light
Lighthouse · Emmet County, Michigan
Waugoshance Light is a lighthouse in Emmet County, Michigan. Michigan has 124 lighthouses on record at Wayfarrow, 6 of them in Emmet County.
It was built in 1851, in the Civil War era, making it the 3rd oldest of the 89 in Michigan with a recorded construction date; its light sits 75 feet above the water; it guards Lake Michigan; it was deactivated in 1912.
Status check, 2026-11: This is an abandoned ruin, shut down in 1912 and gutted by fire during WWII bombing practice. It was crumbling into the lake as of the latest reports (2022), and I found no report that it has fallen. The crib was started in 1850 and the tower finished in 1851. Sources disagree on the height (76 vs 63 ft). Waugoshance Light is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is not reachable by road: the nearest road is about 6 miles away, so it is seen from shore or reached by water. It stands at 45.7750° N, 85.0886° W.
Key facts
| Current structure built | 1851 |
|---|---|
| Focal height | 75 ft |
| Deactivated | 1912 |
| Body of water | Lake Michigan |
| Heritage designation | National Register of Historic Places listed place |
| National Register | Listed |
| Coordinates | 45.77500, -85.08861 |
Nearby places
- Grays Reef Light Stationlighthouse · Emmet County · 3.2 mi
- White Shoal Lightlighthouse · Emmet County · 5.2 mi
- Ile Aux Galetslighthouse · Emmet County · 7.9 mi
- Sturgeon Bayghost town · Emmet County · 8.3 mi
- St. Helena Island Lightlighthouse · Mackinac County · 12.2 mi
- McGulpin Point Lightlighthouse · Emmet County · 15.3 mi
- Old Mackinac Point Lightlighthouse · Cheboygan County · 17.3 mi
- Wawatam Lighthouselighthouse · Mackinac County · 19.1 mi
- Beaver Island Harbor Lightlighthouse · Charlevoix County · 20.4 mi
- Mackinaw Heightsghost town · Cheboygan County · 21.3 mi
- Round Island Lightlighthouse · Mackinac County · 23.1 mi
- Round Island Passage Lightlighthouse · Mackinac County · 23.3 mi
Questions
Where is Waugoshance Light?
Waugoshance Light is in Emmet County, Michigan, at 45.7750, -85.0886.
How many lighthouses are in Emmet County?
Emmet County, Michigan has 6 lighthouses on record at Wayfarrow.
- 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)
- Wikidata — Wikidata item (CC0)
- National Register of Historic Places — National Register of Historic Places record (public-domain)
- Wikidata — Wikipedia article (linked as a source; text not used) (CC0)
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.