The first lighthouse built at the mouth of the St. Joseph River was completed in 1832, making it one of the two earliest lights on Lake Michigan. Several pier lights have been built on the north pier since the 1880s. The outer light has a fifth-order fixed Fresnel lens, which is comprised of two panels and creates an arc of illumination of 180 degrees. The inner light was constructed in 1898; however, in 1906, the pier was extended one thousand feet, and the light was rebuilt a year later.