Wind Point Lighthouse
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Wind Point Lighthouse (or Windpoint Light Station) is a lighthouse located at the north end of
Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...
Harbor in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. It is in the village of
Wind Point, Wisconsin Wind Point is a village in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,651 at the 2020 census. Geography Wind Point is located at (42.782452, -87.774173). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total ...
, on Lighthouse Road, next to the Shoop Park golf course. The lighthouse stands tall. One of the oldest and tallest active
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 ...
s on the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
, it was 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 ...
in 1984.


History

Racine harbor had its first lighthouse in 1837, but that light was not visible to ships approaching from the north, blocked by Racine Point, three and a half miles to the north. As a result, the Lighthouse Board recommended in 1870 the building of a lighthouse on Wind Point itself. Congress appropriated the money in 1877 and the lighthouse entered service in 1880. Wind Point Lighthouse was designed by
Orlando Metcalfe Poe Orlando Metcalfe Poe (March 7, 1832 – October 2, 1895) was a United States Army officer and engineer in the American Civil War. After helping General William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea, he was responsible for much of the early ligh ...
, a former Brigadier General in the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. The lighthouse was constructed in 1880. It was lit for the first time on November 15, 1880. The
beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...
was originally powered by a three-wicked
kerosene lamp A kerosene lamp (also known as a paraffin lamp in some countries) is a type of lighting device that uses kerosene as a fuel. Kerosene lamps have a wick or mantle as light source, protected by a glass chimney or globe; lamps may be used on a t ...
, magnified by 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 ...
. The light was electrified in 1924, and replaced a DCB-24R airport beacon in 1964. The DCB-24R failed in 2007, and was replaced by a
VRB-25 The VRB-25 is a lighthouse optical system designed and built by Vega Industries Ltd. in Porirua, New Zealand. It was originally designed in 1993-95 with the assistance of the United States Coast Guard to meet USCG requirements for a robust m ...
lens. A signal house (horns removed, resonators still in place) remains on the grounds as well as a garage, two storage buildings, and an oil house. The Village of Wind Point has maintained the lighthouse and grounds since 1964, and uses the old keepers' quarters as a village hall and police headquarters. The park and lighthouse were transferred from the U.S. coast guard to the Village of Wind Point in 1997, with the requirement that it be maintained as a historical landmark. The lighthouse is open to tour on certain dates. In the summer of 2007, the lighthouse tower underwent a US$210,000 restoration, during which windows and doors were replaced, brickwork
repointed Repointing is the process of renewing the pointing, which is the external part of mortar joints, in masonry construction. Over time, weathering and decay cause voids in the joints between masonry units, usually in bricks, allowing the undesirable e ...
, and the tower repainted. The shipwreck site of the Kate Kelly is located east of the lighthouse.


See also

* Racine Reef Light * Racine Harbor Lighthouse and Life Saving Station * Racine North Breakwater Light


References


Specialized further reading

* Havighurst, Walter (1943) ''The Long Ships Passing: The Story of the Great Lakes'',
Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...
. * Oleszewski, Wes, ''Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses'', (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) . * * Sapulski, Wayne S., (2001) ''Lighthouses of Lake Michigan: Past and Present'' (Paperback) (Fowlerville: Wilderness Adventure Books) ; . * Taylor, Paul (October 2009) ''Orlando M. Poe: Civil War General and Great Lakes Engineer'' (
Kent State University Press Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses ...
) ; . * Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, ''Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia'' Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) .


External links

*
Wind Point Lighthouse - Official Website
* {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1880 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Racine County, Wisconsin 1880 establishments in Wisconsin