Kenosha Southport Lighthouse

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**Kenosha Southport Lighthouse**
Kenosha (Southport) lighthouse
Location:	Simmons Island, Kenosha, Wisconsin
Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS)	42°35′22″N, 87°48′57″W
Foundation:	Stone
Construction:	Milwaukee "Cream City" Brick
Year first lit:	1866
Deactivated:	1906-1996
Automated:	1996
Tower shape:	Conical
Height:	55 feet (17 m)
Original lens:	Fourth order Fresnel lens

2006 photo of Kenosha Southport Lighthouse after renovations

The Kenosha Southport lighthouse is a lighthouse located near Kenosha in Kenosha County, Wisconsin.

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the Kenosha Light Station, Reference #90000995. Active light since 1996, but not listed in Volume VII United States Coast Guard light list. Replaced by pierhead light in 1906, lantern room removed in 1913 but replicated in 1994. Lens replaced by a 300 mm plastic lens. Currently maintained by the City of Kenosha and the Kenosha County Historical Society.

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)[1]