South Manitou Island Lighthouse

South Manitou Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Leelanau County, Michigan. Michigan has 124 lighthouses on record at Wayfarrow, 6 of them in Leelanau County.

It was built in 1871, in the late 19th century, making it the 31st oldest of the 89 in Michigan with a recorded construction date; its light sits 105 feet above the water; the light characteristic is recorded as F W (a steady light); it guards Lake Michigan; it was deactivated in 1958; the recorded designer or builder is Orlando Metcalfe Poe.

Status check, 2026-11: This is the third lighthouse on the island (the first was begun in 1839). It was decommissioned in 1958 and is now in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The height is left null because sources give 65 ft, about 100 ft and 104 ft, and some of those figures may be the 104 ft focal plane. The record's 1840 date refers to the first light, not this tower. South Manitou Island Lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It stands at 45.0072° N, 86.0939° W.

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