Point Betsie Lighthouse, Benzie County’s most famous landmark, is located on the Lake Michigan shore just south of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and about five miles north of Frankfort, Michigan. Point Betsie is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the United States Point Betsie marks the southern entrance to the Manitou Passage. This point of land was originally known by the French as "Point Aux Bec Scies," meaning "sawed beak point". The lighthouse was built in 1858 at a cost of $5000. The U.S. Lifesaving Service station was built in 1876 and replaced by U.S. Coast Guard in 1917, closing in 1937. The light sits 52 feet above the lake and has a range of about 15 miles. Both the original lens and its 1891 replacement were of the fourth-order Fresnel (Fre’-nel) design. The lighthouse and rescue stations had many keepers throughout their history. The current light system features a modern acrylic lens from New Zealand. Still in use today I have visited this lighthouse for many years. My friend and I would drive along the coast of Michigan on Sundays stopping and taking pictures along the way. My truck pictures are the result of one these trips. I no longer live in Michigan and my friend has regettable past on. Greg