"Government Light”
1835, 1840, 1847, 1858, 1866, 1867,
1903, 1913, 1955, 1994 & 1996
Kenosha, Wisconsin
A number of years ago I
went to do some research on the Southport Lighthouse, so I stopped at the
Kenosha History Center & Museum, hoping to gain some knowledge of the area
and the lighthouse. As I walk through each of the exhibits, I came across an
old Kenosha City Street Map of 1892. The map was mounted in a glass case with
other street artifacts. As I reviewed the City Street Map, I came across the
following information:
“1892 Lighthouse Drive
was named Washington Street; the street ran East & West and Midman Street
ran North & South. Lot 32 on the corner of Washington Street & Midman
Street showed Lot 31 owned by City Poor, Lot 31 read LGS Mygatt, Lot 30 was
which is 2 lots North & on the East Side of the inlet waterway had L.N.
DeDeimer Keeper (Gov’s Light). The original Life Saving Station still stands on
the West corner of Washington Street (Now Lighthouse Dive) & Midman Street.
The original street map showed Lot 11 which was four lots up from the inlet
waterway. The Lifesaving Station is still occupied today by the United States
Coast Guard. On the South East corner of Washington Street (Now Lighthouse
Dive) & Midman Street lots 33 & 34 were owned by LGS (US), I can only
surmise these lots were also owned by the United States Lighthouse Service
along with lot 31, but that’s just my opinion for now”.
According to historical documentation the initial settlement area where
Southport (Government Light) Lighthouse was erected on was
original called “Pike Creek”. This area was able to protect vessel
from Mother Nature’s nastiest elements. Settlers in the areas soon realized
they needed some kind of visual aid for those vessels trying to reach shelter.
In 1935 the citizen of Pike Creek erected the first light. The original light
consisted of a ten foot high tree stump, a platform of rocks at the top of the
stump and a beacon fire that was lit to show the inlet of the creek. After five
year (1840) the light was in dire need of improvement. A new
structure was built. The structure consisted of a 24 foot high four legged
tower capped with a lantern room. This new structure was built a mouth of the
creek.
In 1847 the Unites States Lighthouse Services purchased Simmons Island for the
sole purpose of constructing the first “Government Light”. The
light was completed in 1848 according the historical documentation. The
Government Light needs to be upgraded & the original tower structure needed
to be replaced. The new structure was outfitted with a new 5th Order
Fresnel Lens; however the construction practices were less then acceptable. A
decade later the structure had deteriorated to a point that was unacceptable to
the United States Lighthouse Service. A new lighthouse structure was built in
1866.
Here are some of the
statistics on this old lighthouse.
Years of Operation: 1835
to Present
Construction Cost: $
0,000 in 1835 (Structure)
$ 0,000 in 1840 (Structure)
$ 4,000 in 1847/1848 (Land/Light)
$ 0,000 in 1858 (Structure)
$ 0,000 in 1866 (Structure)
$ 0,000 in 1867 (Keeper’s Quarters)
$ 0,000 in 1913 (Removal Lantern Room)
$ 0,000 in 1955 (Lighthouse & Grounds Sold to City of Kenosha)
$ 0,000 in 1994 (Replace Lantern Room)
$ 0,000 in 1996 (Restoration of Lighthouse & Keeper’s Quarters)
Administered by: United
States Lighthouse Board from 1848 to 1939
United
States Coast Guard from 1939 to 1955
City
of Kenosha from 1955 to 1989
Kenosha County Historical Society from 1989 to Present
Lake Michigan
Elevation:
feet above sea level
Tower Height: 10 feet
from 1835 to 1840
24 feet from 1840 to 1848
? feet from 1848 to 1858
? feet from 1858 to 1866
52 feet from 1866 to Present
Light Sources: Fire from
1835 to 1848
Electricity from ? to Present
Lens: Beacon Fire from
1835 to 1848
5th Order Fresnel Lens from 1848 to 1866
4th Order Fresnel Lens from 1866 to 1994
300 Millimeter Tideland Signal Acrylic Lens from 1994 to Present
Lens Manufacturer:
Light Visibility Range:
14 miles
Flashing Sequence: Fixed
White Light, with single flash panel from 1866 to 1867
Fixed
White Light, varied by flashes every 90 seconds from 1867 to Present
Light Activation by:
Light Focal Plane: 74
feet above the lake
Decommissioned: 1906
Automated: 1994
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