Rawley Point Light (also known as Twin River Point Light) 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 lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

located in Point Beach State Forest, near

Two Rivers, Wisconsin Two Rivers is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 11,712 at the 2010 census. It is the birthplace of the ice cream sundae (though other cities, such as Ithaca, New York, make the same claim). The city's advert ...

. At tall, it is the tallest lighthouse on the Wisconsin Shore and it is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

.Rawley Point Lighthouse
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History

Rawley Point is named after Peter Rowley, who established a trading post in the area in 1835. Some accounts say that a light was established here as early as 1853, a tall arrangement of four poles holding a lantern; this was succeeded by a wooden house and tower. This structure proved ill-placed, and a more substantial building was erected beginning in 1873, consisting of a brick house with an attached tower, about tall, in which was mounted a third order

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...

. This light went into service on December 7, 1874. In 1890 a steam fog whistle was added, and in 1893 a circular oil house was built. The brick tower was not structurally sound, and in 1892 it was strengthened. This continued to be unsatisfactory, and in 1894 a plan was conceived to replace the existing tower with a skeletal tower taken from the old

Chicago Harbor Light The Chicago Harbor Lighthouse is an automated active lighthouse, and stands at the south end of the northern Breakwater (structure), breakwater protecting the Chicago Harbor, to the east of Navy Pier and the mouth of the Chicago River. History ...

, which was erected in 1859 and dismantled when its replacement constructed.Some sources (e.g. the USCG list) claim that the skeleton light displayed at the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in Chicago was re-erected here; contemporary sources, however, indicate this light was to be placed at the Waackaack Rear Range Light, and Anderson shows a drawing indicating the modifications made to the Chicago Harbor Light in adapting it for Rawley Point. This tower had to be increased in height by adding two stages of trusswork to its base; a new service room was also inserted below the lantern. The new light received the lens from the old light and was first lit on November 20, 1894. The old tower remained standing until the next year, when it was dismantled down to the level of roof of the keeper's dwelling; at the same time, the latter was extended to encompass the stubby remains of the old tower. The fog signal was upgraded to a diaphone in 1919; the following year the beacon was electrified. The Fresnel lens was damaged in 1952 and was replaced by twin DCB-36 Aerobeacons; a fire a decade later damaged the addition to the keepers dwelling and the old tower, but they were repaired. The station was automated in 1979, but it continued to be used as a residence for Coast Guard personnel. The beacon was changed again in 1987. The light continues in service, as does the dwelling. The light station was placed on the

in 1975. Up until 1956, this light was referred to as the Twin River Point Light, but in that year it was given its present name.

References

{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1874 Houses completed in 1874 Towers completed in 1894 Buildings and structures in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin