BIG RED HISTORY

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19th CENTURY

1866: Congress appropriates $56K to dredge the channel, which was until then hand-dug.
1870: Construction begins on the wooden beacon light with a $4,000 appropriation from Congress. The kerosene lamp, surrounded by a fifth order Fresnel lens, mounted at a 34-foot focal height, shines for the first time in December.
1870: Melgert Van Regenmorter is installed as the first light keeper at Holland.
1871: Over 400 vessels safely clear Holland Harbor.
1874: A 450-foot-long catwalk is constructed and a keeper's house is erected for Van Regenmortor and his family.
1880: A vicious storm (the same that sunk the Alpena) damages the pier and shifts the beacon light.
1886: A U.S. Life Saving Station is constructed next to the keeper’s house.
1890: A range light in erected west of the beacon light to help guide ships straight into the harbor.

Light Keeper:

Melgert Van Regenmorter
1874 - 1907

20th CENTURY

1902: A new 42-foot tall steel beacon is erected in place of the wooden structure. The new height increased visibility of the light from 11 to 13 miles.
The steel beacon, along with additional harbor improvements, usher in Holland’s “golden age” of resorts and steamships.
1905: The Argo hits a sand bar in the Holland Channel and collides with the north pier causing $1,000 of damage, though the ship was unscathed.
1907: A 2-story, steam-powered fog signal building, with quarters for two assistant keepers, is erected adjacent to the steel beacon as an audible navigational aid. A larger fourth order Fresnel lens is installed in the beacon.
1932: The beacon light and fog signal are electrified.
1936: A tower is added atop the fog signal building to consolidate the light and fog signal into one building, creating the Holland Harbor South Pierhead Lighthouse.
1956: The lighthouse is painted red to comply with new regulations designating red navigational aids on the right side when entering a harbor.
1970: The U.S. Coast Guard recommends abandoning the lighthouse in favor of a modern light on a pole.
1974: Citizens establish the Holland Harbor Lighthouse Historical Commission (HHLHC) and petition to save the lighthouse, which they nicknamed BIG RED.
1978: The Fresnel lens is replaced by an acrylic lens, the HHLHC leases Big Red, and the lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
1987: A Michigan state historic marker is installed.

Light Keepers:

Charles Bavry 1907 - 1910
George J Cornell 1910 - 1911
Edward Mallette 1911 - 1912
Joseph M. Boshka 1912 - 1940

21st CENTURY

2000: The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act allows the Coast Guard to transfer federally owned, excess historic lighthouses.
2005: HHLHC applies for ownership.
2007: Ownership is transferred to the HHLHC.
2024: The book Big Red Lighthouse: The Illustrated History of Holland, Michigan's Famous Icon by maritime historian Valerie van Heest is published.
2026: A new historical marker is unveiled, correcting previously incorrect historical information.