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Jeff Shook, founder of the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, has purchased the historic Port Sanilac Lighthouse that is located about 80 miles north northeast of Detroit, Michigan.
However, Shook’s new ownership of the lighthouse is a private purchase for his own personal use, most likely as a summer home. The purchase has nothing to do with the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, which is a nonprofit that owns the Alpena Lighthouse, the Muskegon South Pierhead Lighthouse, and the Muskegon South Breakwater Lighthouse. Shook is investigating the possibilities of opening the lighthouse up to the public on a limited basis after some restoration work is completed.
Shook, 43, is no stranger to lighthouses. His ancestors were the first lighthouse keepers at Point Aux Barques Lighthouse, and in 1849 Catherine Shook became the first female lighthouse keeper in Michigan. In 2002 Jeff Shook purchased the St. Clair Flats Canal Range Light Station on the lower St. Clair River near Algonac, Michigan. This station has sometimes been incorrectly referred to as the Harsen’s Island Rear Range Light Station, but this is another range located further up the island. The tower located in the yard is the front range light for the St. Clair Flats Channel Range Light.
The Port Sanilac Light Station located in Port Sanilac, is on the southern end of Lake Huron, and was established in 1886. The lighthouse was electrified 1924, but a keeper remained until 1928 when the government automated the station. It was then sold at auction to Carl Rosenfield who later went on to found Carl’s Chop House that, for many years, until its decline and closing a number of years ago, was a popular and premier steak house restaurant in Detroit. The light station was still in the Rosenfield family at the time of the sale to Shook.
In 2012 the asking price for the Port Sanilac Light Station was $1.5 million, but the asking price had recently come down considerably. Shook was eventually was able to purchase the property for $845,000.
We congratulate Jeff Shook and his family and know that they will be good stewards of the Port Sanilac Lighthouse.
This story appeared in the
Jan/Feb 2015 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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