United States Lightship Huron (LV-103) - Retirement, Honors and Museum Service

Retirement, Honors and Museum Service

The following honors have been indicated:

• National Register of Historic Places, listed 12 July 1976
• National Historic Landmark, listed 20 December 1989
• State Register, listed 17 May 1973
• State Historical Marker, erected 1973.

Commissioned in 1921, the Huron began service as a relief vessel for other Great Lakes lightships. She is ninety-seven feet long, twenty-four feet in beam, and carried a crew of eleven. On clear nights her beacon could be seen for fourteen miles (21 km). After serving in northern Lake Michigan, the Huron was assigned to the Corsica Shoals in 1935. These shallow waters, six miles (10 km) north of Port Huron, were the scene of frequent groundings by lake freighters in the late nineteenth century. A lightship station had been established there in 1893, since the manned ships were more reliable than lighted buoys. After 1940 the Huron was the only lightship on the Great Lakes. Retired from Coast Guard Service in 1970, she was presented to the City of Port Huron in 1971. —State historical marker

The ship is exceptionally well-preserved, and has an operable light and fog horn still on board. Her twin General Motors diesel engines are fully operational, having been brought back to life through the efforts of volunteer mechanics. Amateur radio station K8HLM operates from her. She is officially designated as Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society No. USA-394.

The engines suffered damage as the ship awaited transfer to state ownership. The pistons and cylinders were restored through the contributions and efforts of local companies and volunteers. They powered every part of the shift, from lighting to fog horn. To keep them in working order, they are operated every thirty days. That this is a working ship, and not just a static museum, is seen as part of its charm.

She was the last of her kind. It is the smallest surviving lightship, and is representative of the 96-foot (29 m) class.