Kenosha Light Station
| File:Kenosha.jpg Kenosha (Southport) lighthouse | |
 | |
| Location | Simmons Island, Kenosha, Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°35′22″N 87°48′57″W / 42.58944°N 87.81583°W |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1866  |
| Foundation | Stone |
| Construction | Milwaukee "Cream City brick" w/Mortar coat[1] |
| Automated | 1996 |
| Height | Tower - 55 feet (17 m) |
| Shape | Conical |
| Markings | natural, green lantern |
| Heritage | National Register of Historic Places listed place |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1866 |
| Deactivated | 1906-1996 |
| Focal height | 23 m (75 ft) |
| Lens | Fourth order Fresnel lens |
The Kenosha Southport lighthouse is a lighthouse located near Kenosha in Kenosha County, Wisconsin.
Also known as the "Old Kenosha Light", it was replaced by the Kenosha North Pier Light in 1906."[3] The keeper's house continued to be used for many years, however.[4]
The light is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the Kenosha Light Station, Reference #90000995. It has been an active aid to navigation since 1996, but is not listed in Volume VII United States Coast Guard light list. The lantern room was removed in 1913 but replicated in 1994. The Fresnel Lens was replaced by a 300 mm plastic lens -- a medium range lens commonly used on the Great Lakes.[5]
The building is currently maintained by the City of Kenosha and the Kenosha County Historical Society. It is also on the State List/Inventory, having been listed in 1975.[6]
A historical marker in front of the lighthouse reads:
- Built by the federal government in 1866, the Kenosha Lighthouse replaces two other lighthouses constructed at this site in 1848? and 1858?. Originally designated a coast and harbor light for Southport, now Kenosha, WI provided the first navigational illumination a mariner would see upon entering Wisconsin from the Chicago area. Standing 55 feet [17 m] tall and situated on a hill, the lighthouse projected light from 74 feet [23 m] above lake level. The tower is built of yellow Milwaukee Cream City brick and is conical in shape. Originally the lighthouse contained a fourth order Fresnel lens fueled by kerosene with a fixed?-white light which varied by flashes. Officially discontinued in 1906, the lantern room was later removed and replaced by a 25-foot [8 m] tripod mast for displaying storm warning flags and lights. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1990, the lighthouse has been restored and holds an automated electric light. (1996)[7]
The keeper's house is open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays during the tourist season, and the tower is usually available for inspection.[8]
Notes
- ^ United States Coast Guard list of Wisconsin lights, including Kenosha Southport Light.
- ^ Pepper, Terry. "Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes, database".
- ^ Wobser, David, Kenosha North Pier Head Light, boatnerd.com.
- ^ Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Southport Lighthouse: Simmons Island, Kenosha, Wisconsin.
- ^ Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, 300 m.m. Tidelands acrylic lens.
- ^ National Park Service, Maritime History Project, Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Wisconsin - Kenosha Southport Light.
- ^ Lighthouse Friends, Kenosha Southport Light.
- ^ Kenosha History Center events.
Bibliography and further reading
- Crompton, Samuel Willard & Michael J. Rhein, The Ultimate Book of Lighthouses (2002) ISBN 1592231020; ISBN 978-1592231027.
- Hyde, Charles K., and Ann and John Mahan. The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995. ISBN 0814325548 ISBN 9780814325544.
- Jones, Ray & Bruce Roberts, American Lighthouses (Globe Pequot, September 1, 1998, 1st Ed.) ISBN 0762703245; ISBN 978-0762703241.
- Jones, Ray,The Lighthouse Encyclopedia, The Definitive Reference (Globe Pequot, January 1, 2004, 1st ed.) ISBN 0762727357; ISBN 978-0762727353.
- Noble, Dennis, Lighthouses & Keepers: U. S. Lighthouse Service and Its Legacy (Annapolis: U. S. Naval Institute Press, 1997). ISBN 1557506388; ISBN 9781557506382.
- Oleszewski, Wes, Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
- Pepper, Terry. "Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes".
- Putnam, George R., Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1933).
- United States Coast Guard, Aids to Navigation, (Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1945).
- United States Coast Guard, Aids to Navigation Historical Bibliography.
- Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1550463993.
See also
- Kenosha North Pier Lighthouse - Nearby lighthouse
External links
- Kenosha History Center.
- Lighthouse Digest, Wisconsin lighthouses, Kenosha Southport Light, University of North Carolina.
- Lighthouse friends, Kenosha Southport Light article.
- National Park Service Maritime History Project, Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Wisconsin - Kenosha Southport Light.
- Satellite view, Southport Lighthouse, Google earth.
- Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Southport Lighthouse: Simmons Island, Kenosha, Wisconsin.
- United States Coast Guard list of Wisconsin lights, including Kenosha Southport Light.
- United States Coast Guard Volume 7, Lightlist (PDF).
- Wobser, David, Milwaukee Kenosha Southport Light, boatnerd.com.
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