MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Standing guard high over Lake Superior since 1853 the Marquette harbor lighthouse is the oldest significant structure in the city and a symbol of its maritime past. Built just four years after Marquette was incorporated. The original lighthouse was quickly replaced in 1866 due to poor construction, that structure still stands today.
“They built a new one in 1866 it was a story and a half schoolhouse design by 1965 they painted it red, and now it is a really unique structure. There’s no other Lighthouse like that,” said Maritime Museum Director, Hilary Billman.
The tours look at maritime commerce and its connection to the city, as Marquette would not exist without this harbor sentry.
“Well, Marquette started as a shipping port, and so the reason that we’re all here is because of shipping, you know, the iron ore going in and out. And so we needed a lighthouse for that, for the ships to go in safely,” explained Billman.
The most popular event is the paranormal tour, which recounts a ghostly encounter with a little girl. They
“They painted the floor, painted the ceilings, and went home for the night, and when they came back the next day, there was a set of footprints going across the floor in one of the inner rooms. And we’ve held them up to kids feet, and we figure somewhere five or six years old, there were no children at the lighthouse at that time. It’s just weird,” said Billman.
And those footprints are still visible today.
“So, we cut them out and put them on the wall up there to display so if you go in a lighthouse tour you can see the footprints,” said Billman.
Tours run daily from mid-May to mid-October, giving visitors a unique chance to step inside a true piece of Great Lakes history.