Lighthouse bunkhouse being stored for use as a gift shop

It is probably the oldest temporary building ever constructed in Presque Isle County, and after 109 winters along the shores of Lake Huron, the bunkhouse at 40 Mile Point Lighthouse Park is nearing the completion of the first part of a major renovation. The bunkhouse was the first building on the 27-acre site when construction crews arrived on July 5, 1896 on the lightship Amaranth. It was designed to serve as a temporary dwelling for the work crew with plans to convert it to a barn upon completion of the lighthouse and support structures.

Work began immediately to construct a wood-framed building that would house the work crew during construction of the lighthouse and later serve as a barn for the keeper?s horses. Amazingly, the two-story structure, which has served as an office for the US Coast Guard and may have housed the survivor?s of the shipwreck Fay, has been able to withstand Father Time and some of Lake Huron?s fiercest storms.

If it were not for money bequeathed from the estate of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hoffman, the building would not have lasted very much longer. Henry was the husband of the late Peggy Hoffman, the daughter of the last lighthouse keeper, Clarence Tupper. Almost all turn-of-the-century lighthouses had a barn/bunkhouse constructed, but now the buildings are a rarity. According to 40 Mile Point Lighthouse Society member Tom Stone, a lot of work has gone into not only making the building structurally sound, but also a facility that could be of use. ABOUT TWO and a half years ago, a conditions assessment was completed by architect/planners Wigen Tincknell Meyer & Associates of Saginaw for the county. The first estimate was about $93,000, but that was with contract labor. When $16,000 was bequeathed from the Hoffman estate, the decision to use volunteer labor was made, and the project got underway with a small, but dedicated group of workers in 2005. Even though the Coast Guard renovated the building in the 1960s, Stone said it was in bad shape inside and out. ?There was old drywall that was hanging,? said Stone. ?The ceiling was sagging. The tiles were falling down. The floor was rotted, so when they jacked the building up, they just grabbed the floor and pulled it right out.?

When the bunkhouse was lifted three feet in the air, the first cement slab was laid, because all that was left of the original foundation was rotted logs. ?As the edges of the building started to go down, the floor was staying up,? said Stone. There has been considerable progress since the project started. The entrance on the lighthouse side of the building received a new roof. Wiring and wall boards went up on the main floor, along with wood paneling. In addition, the stairs to the second floor were relocated from the northeast corner of the structure to the northwest corner. Instead of a steep climb, the staircase is ?L-? shaped and safer. WORK CONTINUES on the second floor, which will probably not be ready until 2007. Barb Stone said ?We are going to use the upstairs as part of the gift shop, but what we also are thinking of doing is using some of the space for the l

ocal artists to put their wares on display.? With the relocation of the gift shop, which takes up two rooms at the lighthouse, there will be more room for period items and displays. The county has allocated funds for a new roof and the painting of the exterior. ?The bunkhouse is more than 100 years old, it is surprising that it stayed together that long,? said Tom Stone. Special events at the lighthouse this year include the annual Memorial Day weekend open house, along with the afternoon arts and crafts May 27 and 28. Plans are underway to possibly have the lighthouse open more than the usual weekend schedule.

?We are working on trying to get it so we can keep it open all week,? said Tom Stone. ?So far, we don?t have enough volunteers to keep it open. We are thinking about having a campsite for people who might want to run it. A lot of these lighthouses have thousands of people go through, and we are missing a lot of them.? HISTORICAL RECORDS indicate that construction of the lighthouse, oil house and two privies was completed on November 12, 1896; just four months and one week after work crews arrived on site. Completion of the bunkhouse and four masonry structures, including a lighthouse with duplex living quarters, in just over four months is a remarkable accomplishment given that the workers had none of the power tools available today. That is almost as remarkable as the saving of a collapsing building and saving a piece of history.

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