  
Date Designated: December 20, 1989
Location: Port Huron (St. Clair County) |
The United States lightship Huron (LV-103) is a light vessel that was launched in 1920. She is now a museum ship moored in Pine Grove Park, Port Huron.
Huron is one of many light vessels that plied the waters of the Great Lakes. In 1832 the first lightship on the Great Lakes was placed at Waugoshance Shoal. That wooden light ship was the Lois McLain. In 1851 she was replaced by the Waugoshance Light, which is at one of the most hazardous areas near the Straits of Mackinac, Michigan.
In Lake Huron, Huron was the third ship to be placed at Corsica Shoals, a station established in 1893, replacing a gas buoy that was "somewhat ineffective". Three vessels bore the designation of 'Huron Lightship' from 1893 to 1970. The first was Lightship No. 61, a wooden-hulled ship, painted red with white lettering saying "Corsica Shoals" on her sides. Lightship No. 61 served from September 1893 until 1921. She was lost during the November Great Lakes Storm of 1913, which destroyed at least 12 ships and over 250 lives, when she was torn from her moorings and forced onto Point Edward on the Canadian shore. The grounding of Lightship No. 61 was a contributing factor in the loss of the Matthew Andrews at Corsica Shoals. In any event, she was reclaimed and repaired, and remained in service until 1920, when she was retired and sold at auction. In the same storm, Lightship Buffalo (LV-82) foundered near Buffalo in Lake Erie, with the loss of six lives. Buffalo was salvaged and saw service with the Coast Guard until 1936.
In 1921, Lightship No. 61 was replaced by Lightship No. 96, the first vessel to actually be called Huron Lightship. In 1925, there were ten light vessels on the Great Lakes. Fifteen years later, only Huron remained.
Commissioned in 1921 as Lightship Number 103, she operated primarily in southern Lake Huron near Port Huron and the mouth of the St. Clair River. Huron spent the 1924, 1925, 1926 and 1929 seasons lighting Grays Reef. She was assigned in 1934 and 1935 seasons to the North Manitou Shoal. In 1935 she was transferred to the Eleventh District for one year, seeing duty as a relief ship. In 1935, Huron was repainted (with "Huron" on her sides, starboard side painted red and the port side painted black) and transferred to Corsica Shoals, approximately 6 miles north of the Blue Water Bridge.
Huron was equipped with one acetylene lens lantern, 300 millimeters (12 in), a 10 in steam whistle fog horn, and a hand operated bell. After 1945 as Huron, she was the only lightship that was painted black. In 1948, she was refitted to diesel power with twin six-cylinder GM 6-71 engines. The cost was $168,000. After this conversion, her top speed was 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph).
On 7 May 1958, Coast Guardsman Robert Gullickson perished when a wave swamped a tender from Huron Lightship that he was aboard. He is memorialized on the ship, as he was the only casualty during her many years of service.
On August 20, 1970, she weighed her anchor the last time from Corsica Shoal. She was decommissioned at Detroit on August 25. Upon decommissioning, she was replaced by an unmanned warning buoy light. Ownership of Huron was transferred to the City of Port Huron the following June. |