South Fox Island Lighthouse

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 Hot:

Board meeting of
May 8, 2006

Boat moved to
Northport

Web site migration:
New Internet address


 Award: Web Site of the Year 2005

 If you have ideas to share, please use our guestbook. We need suggestions, positive feedback and support to keep our morale high in tackling this pretty difficult task. So please feel free to sign our guestbook even if you just want to say Hello or wish us good luck.

Please check back occasionally. Our Web site is updated fairly frequently.

Thanks for visiting us.
 

 

FOX ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE ASSOCIATION
( FILA )

presenting the

SOUTH FOX ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE
RESTORATION PROJECT

Please note that the FILA Web site has moved to
www.southfox.org

You may go there by clicking on the link above and
update your bookmark (or favorite in Microsoftese) accordingly.

Old lighthouse & dwelling
The old lighthouse, built 1867 (right)
and keepers' dwelling, built 1910 (left).
Photo shot by Phil von Voigtlander, Northport.

 

Probably one of the prettiest islands of the Great Lakes, South Fox Island, lies about 16 1/2 miles north-northwest of Lighthouse Point in Leelanau County, Michigan, making it the most isolated island in Lake Michigan.

The island is crescent shaped and has 11 1/2 miles of shoreline and 2,100 acres of nearly unspoiled wilderness. There is some evidence that French explorers visited North and South Fox Islands in the early 1600s. South Fox has no natural harbor. Even today, when visiting the state land on the island, dockage can be risky! But sometimes a ship could hide behind the island from approaching storms. A lighthouse was erected in 1867 on the southern tip of the island. It was abandoned and left to decay in 1959.

During the summer of 1991, Doug McCormick, past caretaker of the Grand Traverse Lighthouse, filmed South Fox and her light. His father, James McCormick, was keeper there between 1916 and 1921. Mr. McCormick reflected sadly that the once grand light is in "horrible condition, overgrown with trees, one even growing through the roof, vandalized, but still solid." Mr. McCormick fondly recollects his happy boyhood memories of life on South Fox Island. On a personal visit in 1997, we inspected the light and adjacent keepers quarters with DNR approval. They are restorable we believe. Much support has already begun being partnered.

Help is needed to restore this light. The biggest obstacle, the island's remote location, has become less intimidating since we learned that our group will be given a boat way beyond our wildest dreams. However, ideas are needed along with a way to raise financial support and willing volunteer workers.

Until spring 2005, the last sentence here read, "We are in the beginning stages of hoping to rescue the light - if indeed it is even feasible." Now, having the very generous donation of that great boat in prospect and having received promising response from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), we feel more encouraged than ever before.


You may contact John McKinney at 231-947-1926

and / or Sandy Bradshaw at 231-271-0171

 

We are renewed with each and every person visiting the S. Fox Island Web site. The light and adjacent buildings need all of our support. Please let's all gather willing spirit and strive to save this historic light, in so much need of our help - and as one project together we can make it happen.


 


Latest update: May 16, 2006