Historic Barn To Move Three Blocks to Lighthouse Site

By Phyllis Washburn

In continuing with the plans to restore Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, Mackinac State Historic Parks will return a historic barn to its original site in Mackinaw City, setting it on the south side of the lighthouse property.

Lighthouse Opened as Work in Progress

The lighthouse, built in 1891, was reopened in June as a work-in-progress project exhibit and the agency plans to fully restore the lighthouse and grounds over the next five years.

“We are restoring the entire lighthouse site and the barn is part of that integral design,” said State Park Chief Curator Steve Brisson.

The 16-foot by 24-foot barn will be moved this fall or in the spring from a storage site three blocks away. The moving process is expected to cost approximately $30,000 and has included an archaeological study to find the original foundation. The biggest hurdle, however, is the southern ramp of the Mackinac Bridge, which separates the lighthouse site from the park service yard, where the barn is being stored. On a trailer, the barn will not fit under the I-75 bridge.

Mr. Brisson said the plan is to elevate the building, slide it on a wheeled apparatus, and tow it to the bridge over Huron Street. There it will be lowered back to the ground and slid under the roadway on pipes or low rollers. Then it will be loaded back onto the truck and towed the rest of the way.

Towing the barn across I-75 would be more tedious and involve lifting utility cables.

The barn was originally built as an equipment storage barn. In the 1930s, the lighthouse keepers removed the cupola and converted the structure to a garage.

Historic Barn

Has Moved Before

The barn has been moved twice since its original construction in the 19th century, said Mr. Brisson. It was moved to the east side of the property in 1929 during a landscaping project and it was moved off the property altogether in 1962, after the site was acquired by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission.

Because the lighthouse is being restored to the 1910 era, the barn is being moved back on site.

Dr. Lynn Evans, archaeologist at Mackinac State Historic Parks, excavated the area to get an exact idea of where the barn was located and found evidence of a privy inside the barn. Outhouses typically are good sources of artifacts, said Mr. Brisson, as they were commonly used as waste receptacles. Many artifacts, for example, were discovered during a survey of the privy behind the Biddle House on Mackinac Island.

The park agency has yet to determine how it will use the barn. It may someday house a display in it, but will probably use it for storage for now. Its exterior will be restored.