Lighthouses, Birds and Wildlife, Oh My! is back. The spring
and summer hiatus was due to an awesome job change (Community Relations with
the American Cancer Society), a fun, super busy summer, and a couple moves from
Appleton to Franklin and finally to Oak Creek. The summer was a complete blur, and in the midst of the fast-flying summer, I do know it was a lot of fun and quite memorable. Surprisingly enough, this summer, I was able to squeeze in a
day trip to a few lighthouses on Wisconsin's southern coast of Lake Michigan,
also known as the cities Racine and Kenosha. Visiting these two cities may not be
the most exotic of locations, but the road trip achieved my goal of having a
relaxing day at the beach while seeing some lighthouses.
Kenosha was my first
stop of the day, and I started by having lunch at the Boathouse Restaurant.
They are known for great food, large menu of Long Islands, and a pleasant view
of the marina. I ate lunch in their semi-open-air seating, which gave me a
great view of the Kenosha Lighthouse, also known as the Southport Lighthouse.
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| Boathouse Restaurant |
Before
I write about the lighthouse, I learned an interesting fact about the city of
Kenosha while I was reading about the Kenosha lighthouses. The city of Kenosha
was originally called Pike Creek, then Southport in the 1830s, and finally
became Kenosha in 1850. It was called Pike Creek because of a stream of water
that flows through the city; and it was called Southport since it was the
southernmost port for Wisconsin on Lake Michigan.
The first known lighthouse was constructed in the mid to
late 1830s, which was an oak tree stump covered with rocks and its light was a
fire lit every night by volunteers. It only stood about 10 feet. By 1840, a
24-foot toward was built, and still privately operated by volunteers. In 1847 a
government-owned light tower was built, replaced in 1858, and replaced again in
1866 by a cream brick tower that stands today.
The 1866 tower stands 55 feet tall on the north side of
Kenosha’s port on Simmons Island. It gets its cream color from bricks made by
Milwaukee’s Cream City Brick. As you walk around the conical tower, you will
see a door that has the year stamped above it, three windows that provide
interior light and a black iron lantern room that is ten-sided. Nearby the
tower is the lighthouse keeper’s house in the same cream-colored brick. It was
built in 1867, with a red brick addition in 1908.
By 1906 the Kenosha
(Southport) Lighthouse was deactivated due to the building of new pierhead
light tower. By 1913, the lantern room was removed and replaced by weather equipment.
By the 1950s there were plans to tear it down, but was saved by the City of
Kenosha and the Kenosha Historical Society. Finally in the 1990s, a replica
lantern room was created and placed back on top of the tower.
One more interesting fact about the Kenosha (Southport)
Lighthouse is that it was another Great Lakes lighthouse that had several women
as lighthouse keepers. Lorinda and Emma Merrill, a mother-daughter team, tended
the light for only a year when their husband/father passed away in 1871. The
third woman was Mary DeDiemer who was an assistant keeper from 1872-1906. I
personally think it is interesting to read about women serving as lighthouse keepers
since it is a more unique occupation for women.
Following my tour of the Kenosha (Southport) Lighthouse
grounds (I was unable to tour the museum since it was closed), I walked down to
the beach and over to the Kenosha North Pierhead Light. When you are standing
on the Kenosha (Southport) Lighthouse and look to the southeast, you can see
the red tower. Thank goodness for a beautiful summer day because I enjoyed
walking on the beach and soaking in the sunshine. I was surprised by the number
of people using the beach on an August Monday. From the beach, I walked out to
the Pierhead Light via the concrete pier. The red tower with the black lantern
room that was taken from the Kenosha (Southport) Lighthouse in 1913 stands 50
feet tall. As you stare up at the tower, you see a couple porthole windows.
From 1856 to 1906, the harbor saw several pierhead lights
come and go as well as several extensions added to the pier. The 1856 light was
washed away in a storm four years later. The 1867 light was damaged when a
schooner ran into it in 1891. Then the one we see standing today was built in
1906 and originally was white, repainted in 1917.
After snapping a few pictures of the Pierhead Light and
watching a couple sailboats float by, I walked along the beach a little bit and
then headed to my car to drive north to Racine. I will save my Racine
experience for my next entry, which I promise will be sooner rather than later.
I did note that if I ever was interested in making a trip to a beach, but didn’t
have the time or funds to go to a tropical location, I would go back to the
Kenosha beach in a heartbeat. Until next time, take care and talk to you soon!
