While most people don’t think of Indiana having any lighthouses, the fact is that currently Indiana has 5 active lighthouses and one preserved as a museum. According the some estimates there have been a total of 30 different lighthouses over the years in Indiana. Today, sadly, really only one of the lighthouses is readily accessible to the public, the Michigan City Pier Lights.
The first beacon was installed at Michigan City in 1871 on the east pier and maintained by the keeper of the Michigan City Lighthouse (which is now a museum). Over the years the pier was extended farther out into Lake Michigan where the current structure was erected. The lighthouse is connected to the pier by a 1000 foot long catwalk. The current lighthouse was constructed over a two year period from 1903 to 1904. Although the Fog Signal had been operational since the fall of 1903, it wasn’t until October 1904, that a new fifth order Fresnel lens was installed in the tower and illuminated.
In 1933, the lighthouse was electrified allowing the keepers to operate the light and the fog signal from shore, no longer needing to brave the high waves and occasional storms that batter the southern end of Lake Michigan. In 1960, the last of the keepers were removed from Michigan City and the entire station was automated. Around the same time the fifth order Fresnel lens was replace by a modern acrylic lens and put on display in the old Michigan City Lighthouse.
By the mid 1980s, the condition of the catwalks had deteriorated to the point where the Coast Guard announced plans to remove them for safety reasons. Thanks to the efforts of Patricia Harris and Betty Rinehart the lighthouse and the catwalks were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Thanks to their efforts more than $40,000 was raised toward the preservation of this historic lighthouse. Today the catwalks and lighthouses have been restored with easy access and parking. The lighthouses maybe visted from Chicago by riding the historic South Shore Line whose Michigan City station is located about a 20 minute walk from the historic lighthouse.