The Uninhabited Poverty Island and Deserted Lighthouse: Delta County, Michigan
WARNING: Under no circumstances should you enter this property. By doing so you risk bodily harm and/or prosecution for trespassing on private property.
One cool thing – among many – about Michigan is the abundance of islands: big ones, little ones, and some that are hard to see on a satellite map. One of our smaller islands is Poverty Island in Delta County on the furthermost west side of Lake Michigan, almost in Wisconsin territory.
Poverty Island is just one of a slew of little islands that make up the Potawatomi Island group. Others include:
Detroit (Wisconsin),
Gull Island (Michigan),
Little Summer Island (M),
Pilot Island (W),
Plum Island (W),
Rock Island (W),
St. Martin Island (M),
Summer Island (M),
and Washington Island (W).
Poverty Island was hoped to be the resting place of the infamous Le Griffon shipwreck, that was lost in the 1600s. All six crewmen aboard and the cargo of furs were also lost and the ship's whereabouts remain unsolved.
The island is a 186-acre, basically zero-populated hunk of green almost straight across the lake from Petoskey. Aside from the solitude, thick forestry, and quiet beach fronts, the thing of interest here is the Poverty Island Lighthouse. Built in 1875, it sits abandoned on the southwest end along with crumbling outbuildings including the old lighthouse keeper shack.
The gallery below shows some really good drone photos of the lighthouse and the abandoned outbuildings. If you plan on making the tedious trek to Poverty Island, take plenty of supplies...and there's no electricity on the island to re-charge your phones.
The Lighthouse on Poverty Island
MORE MICHIGAN LIGHTHOUSES:
Deserted Fourteen Mile Point Lighthouse
Ghost Town & Lighthouse of Bete Grise
Michigan's Most Haunted Lighthouse: Big Bay Point