A Wisconsin Beauty - Kenosha Pierhead Lighthouse

Located on the north pier at Kenosha, WI, the Kenosha Pierhead Lighthouse was built in 1906. Its tower is made of cast-iron and stands 50-feet tall. The lantern room originally housed a fourth-order Fresnel lens but it has been replaced by a beacon type light. This lighthouse marks the entrance to the harbor in Kenosha. The windy weather, on the day of my visit here in 1998, provided a beautiful setting for the lighthouse and its surroundings. Although the weather was not severe at the time, it caused me to wonder how many lives and ships this lighthouse has saved over the years when the weather was severe.

A Wisconsin Beauty - Wind Point Lighthouse

Located at Wind Point, near Racine, WI, the Wind Point Lighthouse was built in 1880 by the Lighthouse Service. The tower stands 112-feet high and has 144 iron steps to the lantern room. Originally, a kerosene "Aladdin's" lamp supplied the light until 1924 at which time it was replaced by an electrified lamp. The light was manned by a lighthouse keeper and two assistants, who along with their families, lived in the house adjacent to the tower.

The Coast Guard replaced the lens with a fully automated system in 1964. With the use of radar on ships, the foghorn was no longer needed, so it was dismantled. The light consists of a 1,000 watt bulb and a reflector which magnified the light to two million candlepower. The beam of light is visible for 19-miles, and the rotation of the light is timed so that it flashes every 20-seconds. The light is activated by timers and photo-electric cells, which turn it on 30-minutes before sunset and off 30-minutes after sunrise, or whenever visibility is less than 5-miles. Once the light became automated, the Coast Guard sealed the tower.

At the time of my visit here in 1998 visitors were welcome to walk around the grounds, but no one was permitted inside the lighthouse except qualified personnel.

A Wisconsin Beauty - Southport Lighthouse

Located in Kenosha, WI, the Southport Lighthouse was built in 1866. Its tower stands 52-feet tall and the lantern room housed a fourth-order Fresnel lens prior to deactivation in 1906. The keepers house was built in 1867. At the time of my visit here in 1998, the lighthouse was owned by the City of Kenosha.

A Wisconsin Beauty - Cana Island Lighthouse

The Cana Island Lighthouse is located at Bailey's Harbor, WI. Built in 1869, its tower stands 89-feet high and is attached by a passageway to the house. The lantern room houses a third-order Fresnel lens. The focal plane of the light is 82-feet above the water level of the lake. This lighthouse sets on a rocky Lake Michigan outcropping, and to reach it, depending on depth of the water, one has to wade across a rocky causeway to the island.

At the time of my visit here in 1998, the light, which was automated in 1944, continued to operate as an active navigational aid. The grounds around the lighthouse were maintained by the Door County Maritime Museum under lease with the U.S. Coast Guard. The keeper's house, which consisted of eight rooms, was open to the public.