The shoals around Charity Island were a major source of problems, posing an obstacle to lumber vessels.

[8] The octagonal cast iron lantern displayed a fixed white Fourth Order Fresnel lens light which was constructed in 1857[9] with a 39-foot (12 m) tower which provided a 13-nautical-mile (24 km; 15 mi) range of visibility.

[15] The Charity Island Preservation Committee of the Arenac County Historical Society is restoring the tower.

[16] The original keeper's house was razed, and a new restored private residence has been built in its place and on its foundation.

However, tours of the island (and dinner cruises) are commercially available on vessels named the Catamaran and the North Star.

[10] They are available from Charity Island Transport, Inc. in Au Gres, Michigan, on the mainland, south of Tawas.