The Grand Traverse Heritage Center will host a tour of the Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Individuals registered for the tour area are asked to meet at the lighthouse, located at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula, nine miles north of Northport, inside Leelanau State Park. While there, tour participants can climb the lighthouse tower for sweeping views of Lake Michigan and surrounding islands. There is also a restored keeper’s residence containing furniture and household items dating back to the 1920s and 1930s.

Exhibits on shipwrecks, foghorns and other lighthouses are also available for viewing, and the gift ship offers a variety of clothing, books and nautical gifts.

An act of Congress in 1850 and an appropriation of $4,000 facilitated the erection of the Grand Traverse Light Station at the entrance of Grand Traverse Bay.

According to Tara Ward, education coordinator for Grand Traverse Heritage Center, there were no roads to the construction site so all materials and construction workers were brought in by a schooner that would anchor off shore in deep water. Rafts would carry the materials and workers to the shore.

Ward noted that in April 1853, Philo Beers was appointed the first light keeper. The Grand Traverse Lighthouse, a one-family home, was built in 1858.

Advance registration is necessary for the tour and can be made by calling 995-0313. The registration fee is $4 for adults, and $2 for youth ages 6 through 18. There is no charge for children 5 and under.