The Sand Hills Lighthouse is one of two Bed & Breakfast lights in Michigan's upper peninsula (Big Bay Point is the other). The station was built in 1919 to warn ships from the treacherous Eagle River shoals. The Eagle River Lighthouse was located too far inland from the shoals for adequate warning, so it's operation was discontinued in 1908. A temporary light was used until Sand Hills was built.
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The location required all materials to be shipped by barge, resulting in an expensive structure. The station was manned from 1919 to 1939, and featured a 4th Order Fresnel bull's-eye lens. The beacon was automated with an acetylene gas lamp, which served until 1954 when the station closed. The light was a twin to Alaska's Scotch Cap Light, which was tragically destroyed by a tidal wave in 1946.
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