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A National Register Historic Site since 1995 - A State of Michigan Historic Site since 2002
Lighthouse History - Lighthouse Keepers
The Holland Lighthouse was never “home” to its lighthouse keepers. At about the same time that the original wooden tower was built in 1872, a two story residence was erected a couple hundred yards due east of the lighthouse.
Because the residence and the lighthouse itself were government property, they were expected to be maintained in orderly and nearly spotless condition: no dust allowed anywhere in either building, and the brass equipment to be highly polished. The Lighthouse Bureau believed that slovenly building and equipment conditions would lead to apathy about maintenance of the all important light itself.
It should be noted that obsolete equipment or supplies which were no longer needed at one lighthouse were carefully collected and reissued at another lighthouse. One historian has stated that some Stations were barely able to perform their duties when they only had obsolete or worn out equipment.
The first Holland Lighthouse keeper was Melgert Van Regenmorter. He served from December, 1870 to April, 1908 receiving an annual salary of $540. He started his tenure a couple of years before the wooden tower was built in 1872 and stayed on for about a year after the now-familiar fog signal building was built behind the steel tower in 1907. Mr. Van Regenmorter supposedly knew nothing about steam driven equipment and was not eager to learn, so he retired and lived the remainder of his life in Macatawa, perhaps within sight of the lighthouse.
Between 1908 and 1912, three different men served as Holland’s lighthouse keepers. Little is known about them, other than their names and service dates. Charles Bavry served from April 1908 until December, 1910 at an annual salary of $650. George Cornell served two months from December, 1910 to January, 1911. Edward Mallette replaced Mr. Cornell and served until February, 1912.
The last keeper to serve at Holland was Joseph M. Boshka. He entered the Lighthouse Service in 1897 and he served at Holland from 1912 until 1940 when the Lighhouse Bureau was abolished. Mr. Boshka retired to live in Macatawa.
The lighthouse was tended during the times of year that the waters were navigable. In addition to tending and maintaining the light and the fog signal, the keeper and his assistants also stood watch in six hour shifts. This was particularly important during the years the fog signal was steam powered, as it took 45 minutes to build up sufficient steam pressure . Mr. Boshka’s son, J. M. Boshka, recollected in a 1976 interview that his father’s long experience in the lighthouse service sharpened his ability to sense when fog was about to develop. “My father would take a whiff of air and say ‘we will probably have fog tomorrow.‘ He could just smell the
This view to the south across the channel shows the life saving station on the left and the lighthouse keeper’s residence on the right.
Looking east past the life saving crew, the lighthouse keeper’s residence is highlighted in yellow on the left, with the lighthouse highlighted in red at the extreme right.
Click here for another photo of the life saving crew.
The deserted lighthouse keeper’s residence caught the eye of artist Miriam Kesterson in 1963, just three years before it was demolished as part of President Johnson’s “Beautify America” program.
