Last Week at Rotary - March 30, 2023

Eric Gallannek of the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center and Russ Gardner of the Mt Baldhead Radar Station Work Group gave a presentation about the restoration and listing of the station.

 

Mt Baldhead has long been a high spot for viewing in the Saugatuck area. In the early 1900s there was an observation tower for tourists to climb to see Lake Michigan. The stairs were built in 1931.

 

During the Cold War the Soviet Union tested nuclear bombs and deployed them on bombers. The US was concerned about Soviet bombers coming over the Noth Pole unobserved. The Midwest was a particular target because of the concentration of manufacturing facilities. In the 1950s long range radar installations were built that watched thousands of miles to the top of the planet. There was concern that aircraft could fly lower than the long-range radar scans. This led to a network of 131 Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) gap filler radar stations.

 

The concern was that aircraft would fly low over Lake Michigan to avoid the long-range radar. Initially there was a human staffed observation tower. People were stationed on a tower with binoculars. The Mt Baldhead station was designated 2-67C. The construction started in Aug 1956 and it became operational in 1958. The installation was upgraded in 1963 and the familiar dome was added.

 

The radar system was made obsolete when ICBMs were deployed as well as satellite surveillance becoming operational.

 

The installation was decommissioned in 1969 and the City of Saugatuck bought it for $250 in 1969. The building was used for storage until May of 2021 when the work group got permission to start restoring the facility and list it on the national register of historic places. It was listed in December of 2022.

 

The Interact Club of Saugatuck helped clean up the graffiti and repaint the building. The Rotary Club of Saugatuck-Douglas provided the signs.