1905 Keeper's House

History of the 1905 Keeper’s House

On April 28, 1904, Congress allocated $5,000 for construction of an additional residence at Presque Isle Light Station. A year later, on April 27, 1905, the Detroit-based USLHT Amaranth, a wooden-hulled, steam-powered, double-screw lighthouse tender operated by the U.S. Lighthouse Service, put into North Bay to off-load construction materials. A contractor named Jerome Louzon was in charge of the project, and used a crew from Alpena. Construction began at mid-summer and was completed in the early fall.

By 1905 Alpena had become a major producer of cement, and the 1905 House is built of cement block from a hand-tamped machine designed by the Besser Manufacturing Company in Alpena.  Interior finish is wet plaster on lath. Floors are birdseye maple, and trim appears to be Douglas fir or a similar wood. By analyzing paint samples, restoration workers were able to match wall colors used in 1905. The original roof was replaced with a metal roof about 1995. In all major respects, including furnishings and decoration, the house looks as it did about 1915.

Although originally intended for the Assistant Keeper, by the time the 1905 House was ready for occupancy, it had been designated for use by the principal Keeper and his family. Thomas Garrity, a bachelor, was the first Keeper to reside there. His sister Kathryn (Kate) lived with him. At his retirement in 1935 Thomas was succeeded by Elmer C. Byrnes and his family, who transferred from Point Iroquois Light Station on Lake Superior, west of Sault Ste. Marie.

Modern conveniences were slow in arriving on the Peninsula. At the start, heat was supplied by two fireplaces and a kitchen wood stove on the ground floor, and by small stoves upstairs. In 1911 a boiler and radiators were installed. Nearly three decades later, in 1940, electricity was finally run to the house. That same year indoor plumbing replaced the outdoor privy, and one of the four bedrooms upstairs was converted to a bathroom.

Keeper Byrnes witnessed the transition in lighthouse management as the Coast Guard assumed control from the U.S. Lighthouse Service. After Elmerʼs retirement, USCG personnel served as keepers. They lived in the dwelling until 1970 when the light was automated and an on-site keeper was no longer needed. For the first time in a century, the Presque Isle Light Station and the 1905 House were Keeper-less!

In 1973 the Light Station was leased to Presque Isle Township to serve as a public park. Over the next 25 years, the 1905 House was successively occupied by three different families–the Van Wagnen, Sandford, and McGee families–who served as caretakers for the Township. Then, on June 16, 1998, the property was deeded to the Township, with the agreement that it would be maintained as a not-for-profit public park. The Presque Isle Township Museum Society, formed in 1998 as a Michigan nonprofit corporation, began renovation of the 1905 House in May 1999, and completed the work in July 2005. The Museum soon opened to the public.

Repair and maintenance is an ongoing responsibility. During the period 2012-13 the Township — with substantial financial support from the Museum Society — undertook restoration of the front porch, stairs, and railings, all of which were rebuilt according to the original architectural plans. At the same time the 1905 House's windows were repaired and the exterior of the building was painted

In 1905…

• The U.S Flag has 45 stars.

• Theodore Roosevelt is President.

• September 27 — Albert Einstein publishes a paper with his E=mc2 equation.

• October 5 — The Wright Brothers’ third airplane stays in the air for 39 minutes.