In 1936, the United States Coast Guard developed plans to construct another lighthouse, 1000 feet south of Mackinac Island, to mark the northern side of the navigable channel.

[7] Construction included building a control house at the southern tip on Mackinac Island, and running power cables underwater to the light.

In 1959, the lighthouse's beacon characteristic was changed from green to a flashing red light, and the radiobeacon distance-finding system was deactivated in 1962.

[2] In the same year, the General Services Administration announced that Round Island Passage Lighthouse was not needed by the Coast Guard.

[7] Atop the tower's concrete deck is a red-painted 20 foot square enclosure, eleven feet high, constructed of steel plates.

Each side of the tower contains a four-foot bronze relief Indian head, commemorating the fact that Mackinac Island was a sacred spot for Native American tribes.