Kenosha Light

Kenosha (Southport) Light

Kenosha (Southport) lighthouse (NRHP)
Location	Simmons Island, Kenosha, Wisconsin
Coordinates	42°35′22″N 87°48′57″W / 42.58944°N 87.81583°W / 42.58944; -87.81583Coordinates: 42°35′22″N 87°48′57″W / 42.58944°N 87.81583°W / 42.58944; -87.81583
Year first lit	1866
Automated	1996
Deactivated	1906-1996
Foundation	Stone
Construction	Milwaukee "Cream City brick" w/Mortar coat[1]
Tower shape	Conical
Markings / pattern	natural, green lantern
Height	Tower - 55 feet (17 m)
Focal height	Focal plane - 76 feet (23 m)[2]{{{focalheight}}}
Original lens	Fourth order Fresnel lens
Current lens	300 mm Tideland Signal acrylic plastic lens
ARLHS number	USA-912
USCG number
Kenosha Light Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	5117 Fourth Ave., Kenosha, Wisconsin
Area	less than one acre
Built	1866
Architectural style	Greek Revival
Governing body	Local
NRHP Reference #	90000995[3]
Added to NRHP	June 28, 1990

Kenosha Light (also called Southport Light) is a lighthouse located near Kenosha in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, USA.

History

Tower

Also known as the "Old Kenosha Light", it was replaced by the Kenosha North Pier Light in 1906.^[4] The keeper's house continued to be used for many years, however.^[5]

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 Tidaland Signal plastic lens – a medium range lens commonly used on the Great Lakes.^[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) [17 m] tall and situated on a hill, the lighthouse projected light from 74 feet (23 m) [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 (7.6 m) [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]

Current status and directions

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.^[8]

The keeper's house is open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays during the tourist season, although it is currently under renovation (see the Kenosha History Center website, below, for further information). The tower is open for climbers many weekends of the summer.^[9]

The lighthouse can be seen from the street. In Kenosha on 50th Street and 4th Avenue, just cross the bridge to Simmons Island, around the curve onto Lighthouse Drive.^[10]

See also

• Kenosha North Pier Lighthouse - Nearby lighthouse

References

Specialized Additional reading

External links

2006 photo of Kenosha Southport Lighthouse after renovations

• Anderson, Kraig, Lighthouse friends, Kenosha Southport Light article.
• Kenosha History Center.
• 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.
• Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Eastern Wisconsin". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 
• Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 
• Wobser, David, Milwaukee Kenosha Southport Light, boatnerd.com.

v t e Lighthouses of Wisconsin See also: List of lighthouses in Wisconsin Lake Superior Apostle Islands Ashland Harbor Breakwater Chequamegon Point Devils Island Gull Island La Pointe Michigan Island Outer Island Raspberry Island Sand Island Wisconsin Point Lake Michigan Algoma Pierhead Baileys Harbor Baileys Harbor Range Boyer Bluff Cana Island Chambers Island Eagle Bluff Grassy Island Range Green Bay Harbor Entrance Kenosha North Pier Kenosha Kewaunee Pierhead Kevich Manitowoc Breakwater Milwaukee Breakwater Milwaukee Pierhead North Point Peshtigo Reef Pilot Island Plum Island Range Port Washington Breakwater Pottawatomie Rawley Point Sheboygan Sherwood Point Sturgeon Bay Canal Sturgeon Bay Canal North Pierhead Two Rivers Wind Point Lake Winnebago Asylum Calumet Fond du Lac Kimberly Point Rockwell Historical (lost) lights Dunlap Reef Range Front Manitowoc Main Manitowoc North Pierhead Plum Island Range Front Racine North Pierhead Racine Reef Light