Sand Hills Lighthouse stands on Five Mile Point west of Eagle River, a 70-foot square tower of buff pressed brick rising out of one building that held three keepers’ apartments. It was lit in June 1919, after Congress authorized a light here in 1893 and then waited 24 years to pay for it. Keepers lived in it for 20 years.
The light went dark for good in 1954. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Travel and Recreation Association gets that end wrong in its listing, which says “The light was in service until 1945, when it became a private residence.” The Coast Guard Historian’s Office lists it as deactivated in 1954 and sold into private hands in 1958.
The wreck that made the case
Sawtooth Reef, also called Eagle River Reef, is a rocky ledge about a half mile offshore. On Oct. 18, 1910, the new 600-foot steamer W.C. Moreland ran aground on it in smoke from a forest fire, according to Lighthousefriends, which works from the Lighthouse Service’s annual reports. The Lake Carriers’ Association counted ten vessels on that reef in the previous decade and asked for a light.
Its 1911 report said the Moreland’s loss “is attributed to the absence of a warning light or signal.” Congress finally put up $70,000 on June 12, 1917. By June 30, 1919, the station had cost $68,714.69, the Commissioner of Lighthouses reported. The fog signal started May 15, 1919, and the main light June 19.
Three families under one tower
That 1919 report describes one keeper and two assistants living in the main building, with the light 91 feet above the lake and visible about 18 miles in clear weather. The tower’s second floor was the keepers’ office, with a separate door into each apartment. The same report describes the site that gave the light its name: about 47 acres, heavily wooded along a rocky shore, “with sand hummocks inland.”
The first keeper put in charge, Arthur DeChamplain, fell ill and died in Bay City on June 6, 1919, before the permanent fog signal went into operation. William Bennetts, a younger brother of the last keeper at Eagle River Light, took over that September and stayed until 1939.
In 1939 an automatic light replaced the crew. About 200 Coast Guard recruits trained at the station for a year during World War II. In July 1958 the General Services Administration took sealed bids, calling the place suitable for “a summer home, a fishing and hunting club, or a resort.” A Detroit-area insurance agent won it for $26,000.
Who has it now
Bill Frabotta, a Dearborn photographer, bought it from that bidder and opened Sand Hills Lighthouse Inn in 1995 with eight rooms. In 2019 Edward Cole, owner of nearby Eagle River Lighthouse, bought it and closed it for a multi-year restoration, Lighthousefriends reports, and bought more than 1,000 acres around it for hiking trails. Frabotta and his wife Mary, the site notes, shared first names with the first couple to live there, Bill and Mary Bennetts.
The inn’s old web address now shows a parked domain. The Upper Peninsula Travel and Recreation Association’s listing calls it a private residence and says no visitors are allowed.
Go See It
Sand Hills Lighthouse, Five Mile Point
- Hours
- Private property. No public hours, tours or grounds access found in any current source.
- Cost
- No admission. Not open to the public.
- Season
- No visitor season. Lighthousefriends reports the owner closed it for a multi-year restoration after buying it in 2019; no reopening date found.
- Drive
- From Marquette: 2 hr 28 min (124 mi) via US-41 N
From the Bridge: 5 hr 3 min (287 mi) via M-28 W and US-41 N - Do not enter the grounds
- the UP Travel listing says no visitors are allowed.
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Sources, credits, and reporting details
Sources & accountability
How this story was reported
Editorial methodAggregation
Last verifiedOct. 5, 2026
Corrections statusNo material correction note is recorded on this article.
AI assistanceResearched and drafted with AI tools. Reviewed and approved by editor Keegan O’Brien.
Verification note: Sources read and checked Oct. 5, 2026.
Primary sources
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Sand Hills Lighthouse, Michigan — Lighthousefriends.com (quoting Lighthouse Board, Commissioner of Lighthouses and Lake Carriers' Association reports)
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
Supports: 70-ft square tower of buff pressed brick; three separate apartments
[Chrome] "The combined tower and dwelling, which is the main structure, is of buff-colored, pressed brick. This building consists of a square tower 70 feet high and three separate apartments"
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Sand Hills Lighthouse, Michigan — Lighthousefriends.com
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
Supports: Authorized 1893, not funded; $70,000 on June 12, 1917
[Chrome] "Congress authorized the construction of the new station in 1893 but never provided the necessary funds." / "Congress finally provided $70,000 for the much needed station on June 12, 1917."
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Derived: years from authorization to funding — YooperHub calculation
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
Supports: 24 years between 1893 authorization and 1917 funding
Calculated: 1917 – 1893 = 24.
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Sand Hills Lighthouse, Michigan — Lighthousefriends.com
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
Supports: Cost $68,714.69 to June 30, 1919; fog signal May 15, 1919; main light June 19, 1919
[Chrome] "Amount expended to June 30, 1919, $68,714.69." / "the fog signal was placed in operation on May 15, 1919, and the main light on June 19, 1919."
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Sand Hills Lighthouse, Michigan — Lighthousefriends.com
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
[Chrome] "Eagle River Reef, a rocky ledge located about a half-mile offshore and also known as Sawtooth Reef" / "On October 18, 1910, the new 600-foot steamer W.C. Moreland ran aground on the reef during smoky conditions caused by a forest fire."
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Sand Hills Lighthouse, Michigan — Lighthousefriends.com (quoting Lake Carriers' Association)
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
[Chrome] "the Lake Carriers' Association listed ten vessels that had struck the reef in the past decade" / "is attributed to the absence of a warning light or signal to notify the master of his approach to the dangerous reefs"
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Sand Hills Lighthouse, Michigan — Lighthousefriends.com (quoting Commissioner of Lighthouses, 1919)
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
[Chrome] "One keeper and two assistants are quartered in the main building" / "The light is 91 feet above lake level and is visible approximately 18 miles in clear weather." / "The second story of the tower is used as an office by the keepers and has separate entrances into each apartment."
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Sand Hills Lighthouse, Michigan — Lighthousefriends.com (quoting Commissioner of Lighthouses, 1919)
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
Supports: Site: 3 3/4 miles west of Eagle River on Five Mile Point; 47 acres; sand hummocks inland
[Chrome] "This station is located about 3 3/4 miles west of the town of Eagle River, Mich., on 'Five Mile Point.' The reservation comprises an area of about 47 acres heavily wooded along the rocky shore line, with sand hummocks inland."
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Sand Hills Lighthouse, Michigan — Lighthousefriends.com
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
[Chrome] "Keeper Champlain became ill in Bay City, Michigan before the permanent fog signal was placed in operation, and he died there on June 6, 1919." / "Bennetts was a younger brother of Thomas Bennetts, the last keeper of nearby Eagle River Lighthouse, and he would serve as head keeper of Sand Hills Light Station until his retirement in 1939" / replaced DeChamplain "in September 1919"
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Sand Hills Lighthouse, Michigan — Lighthousefriends.com
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
Supports: Automatic light 1939; ~200 recruits trained for a year in WWII; discontinued 1954
[Chrome] "until his retirement in 1939, when an automatic light was established" / "Sand Hills Light was discontinued in 1954, but not before the station was used for a year during World War II to train some 200 Coast Guard recruits."
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Sand Hills Lighthouse, Michigan — Lighthousefriends.com
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
Supports: 1958 GSA sealed bids; summer home/club/resort; Bliss, Detroit-area insurance agent, $26,000
[Chrome] "In July 1958, the General Services Administration announced that it would be accepting sealed bids for Sand Hill Light Station, which it said was suitable for a summer home, a fishing and hunting club, or a resort. H. Donald Bliss, an insurance agent from the Detroit area, submitted the winning bid of $26,000."
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Sand Hills Lighthouse, Michigan — Lighthousefriends.com
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
Supports: Frabotta, Dearborn photographer; inn opened 1995 with eight rooms; Bill and Mary names
[Chrome] "Bliss sold the property to Bill Frabotta, a photographer from Dearborn." / "Sand Hills Lighthouse Inn opened in 1995, offering eight rooms" / "Bill and Mary just happen to have the same first names as the first couple to live in the lighthouse, Bill and Mary Bennetts."
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Sand Hills Lighthouse, Michigan — Lighthousefriends.com
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
Supports: Cole bought 2019, closed for multi-year restoration, bought 1,000+ acres for trails
[Chrome] "Mary continued to run the inn until 2019, when Edward Cole, owner of nearby Eagle River Lighthouse, purchased Sand Hills Lighthouse. Cole … closed the property for a multi-year restoration. Cole has also purchased over 1,000 contiguous acres surrounding Sand Hills Lighthouse to protect the area from development and allow for a network of hiking trails."
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Sand Hills Lighthouse — U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office
Published Oct. 15, 2019. Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
Supports: CORRECTION (primary side): deactivated 1954; sold 1958
[Chrome] "Deactivated: 1954" / "1954 – Decommissioned." / "1958 – Sold into private hands." / "Operational? NO"
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sandhillslighthouseinn.com — GoDaddy parked page
Published Oct. 5, 2026. Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
Supports: Inn's old web address is a parked domain
[Chrome] "sandhillslighthouseinn.com is parked free, courtesy of GoDaddy.com."
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Google Maps directions, Marquette to Sand Hills Light — Google Maps
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
Supports: Drive time from Marquette
Fastest route read live Oct 5, 2026: 2 hr 28 min (124 mi) via US-41 N.
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Google Maps directions, Mackinac Bridge to Sand Hills Light — Google Maps
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
Supports: Drive time from Mackinac Bridge
Fastest route read live Oct 5, 2026: 5 hr 3 min (287 mi) via M-28 W and US-41 N.
Additional reporting
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Sand Hills Lighthouse (listing) — Upper Peninsula Travel and Recreation Association
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
[Chrome] "The light was in service until 1945, when it became a private residence." / "This is private residence – no visitors allowed." / "6029 5 Mile Point Rd Ahmeek, MI 49901"
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Sand Hills Light — Wikipedia
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026.
Supports: GPS of the light
[Chrome] geo 47.39194; -88.370417
Photo and media credits
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Sand Hill Point 028 26.jpg (media 4114) — Wikimedia Commons / Chris Light
Featured image record. Accessed Oct. 5, 2026. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Supports: Image credit and licence.
Commons file page metadata read Oct 5, 2026: licence CC BY-SA 4.0, author Chris Light. Original 1500×1000; uploaded 1500×1000 (downscaled, not cropped). Viewed before alt text was written.
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MI – Sand Hills – DPLA – 000e7555e7da5b30d04d628e82f19250.jpg (media 4117) — Wikimedia Commons / Bureau of Lighthouses, National Archives
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026. Public domain.
Supports: Image credit and licence.
Commons file page metadata read Oct 5, 2026: licence Public domain, author Bureau of Lighthouses, National Archives. Original 8880×6551; uploaded 2560×1889 (downscaled, not cropped). Viewed before alt text was written.
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MI – Sand Hills – DPLA – a8aeb9b37c153dd1fd34a63f2a7046f6.jpg (media 4115) — Wikimedia Commons / Bureau of Lighthouses, National Archives
Accessed Oct. 5, 2026. Public domain.
Supports: Image credit and licence.
Commons file page metadata read Oct 5, 2026: licence Public domain, author Bureau of Lighthouses, National Archives. Original 8880×6590; uploaded 2560×1900 (downscaled, not cropped). Viewed before alt text was written.
