Kenosha Light Station (also called Southport Light Station) is a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

and keeper's house on Simmons Island north of the channel into Kenosha's harbor in Kenosha County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

History

Also known as the "Old Kenosha Light", the lighthouse was replaced by the Kenosha North Pier Light in 1906. The keeper's house continued to be used for many years, however. The light is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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 The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

light list. The lantern room was removed in 1913 but replicated in 1994. The

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens (optics), lens which reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections. The simpler Dioptrics, d ...

was replaced by a 300 mm Tidaland Signal plastic lens – a medium range lens commonly used on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

. 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, Wisconsin provided the first navigational illumination a mariner would see upon entering Wisconsin from the Chicago area. Standing tall and situated on a hill, the lighthouse projected light from 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 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)'' Kenosha Lighthosue Plaque

A lightkeeper's house sits near the lighthouse tower. The original section of the house was built in 1866 at the same time as the lighthouse. It was two stories, with walls of cream brick similar to the tower, with a simple rectangular footprint. The moderate pitch of the roof and the

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

board under the eaves come from

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

style. In 1907 the north ell with the two-story porch was added to the house, along with a 2-story addition to the kitchen at the southeast corner and bathrooms. With The light on Simmons Island was part of an effort to make Kenosha a major shipping port, and money was spent from the 1830s to the 1880s on infrastructure like the lighthouse. But this lighthouse was too far from the harbor to give entering craft a clear bearing, so a beacon was added to the pierhead in the 1860s. By the turn of the century, the better harbors and railroad connections at Chicago, Milwaukee and Racine prevailed and Kenosha was a minor port. Kenosha Light Station is also included on the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places.

Current status and directions

The building is currently maintained by the City of Kenosha and the Kenosha County Historical Society. The keeper's house is open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays during the tourist season. The tower is open for climbers many weekends of the summer. The lighthouse can be seen from Kenosha near the vicinity of 50th Street and 4th Avenue.Wobser, David, Milwaukee Kenosha Southport Light
, Boatnerd

References

External links

NPS National Registration of Historic Places Registration FormWisconsin Historical Society pageAnderson, Kraig, Lighthouse friends, Kenosha Southport Light article.Kenosha History Center.Satellite view, Southport Lighthouse

Google earth Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...

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Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light, Southport Lighthouse: Simmons Island, Kenosha, Wisconsin.
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, Boatnerd {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1866 Houses completed in 1866 Buildings and structures in Kenosha, Wisconsin Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin 1866 establishments in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Kenosha County, Wisconsin

History

Current status and directions

See also

References

Further reading

External links