Fort Gratiot Light Station
Fort Gratiot was built in 1814 during the War of 1812 to guard the juncture of the St. Clair River and Lake Huron. Named after the engineer who supervised construction, Charles Gratiot, Fort Gratiot would be occupied on and off by the United States Army until 1879. With a surge of vessel traffic on Lake Huron in the early 1800s, the need for a Light Station to guide vessels through the water way became very important.
In 1823 Congress approved the funds to build the first lighthouse in Michigan and the second oldest on the Great Lakes
