Wind Point Lighthouse And Old Coast Guard Keepers Quarters.
by Susan McMenamin
Title
Wind Point Lighthouse And Old Coast Guard Keepers Quarters.
Artist
Susan McMenamin
Medium
Photograph
Description
Wind Point Lighthouse And Old Coast Guard Keepers Quarters. Located in Racine, Wisconsin, the Wind Point Lighthouse is one of the oldest and tallest still operating on Lake Michigan. The Lighthouse was built in 1880 and was designed by Orlando Metcalfe Poe who had served in the Civil War as a Brigadier General. After the war, he served as engineer secretary of the Lighthouse Board and was in charge of lighthouse construction. It was lit for the first time on November 15, 1880. The Fresnel Lens created the distinctive flashing light using dozens of glass prisms to bend and focus the light which made for an immensely powerful light. The original lens can be seen in the old Coast Guard Keepers Quarters.
A mechanism of weights, cables and pulleys rotated the enormous Fresnel Lens to create the flashing that navigators on the Lake recognized. Fuel for the light had to be carried up the 144 iron steps and the Keeper or his Assistants had to make that climb daily. About 270 gallons were used in 1881. The Keeper or his Assistants had to clean the Lens every day so that it sparkled. In 1997, the U.S. Coast Guard transferred the Lighthouse to the Village of Wind Point, requiring the Village to maintain it as a historic site and landmark, but kept the responsibility of the light itself. The Village of Wind Point is responsible for the care of the Lighthouse and the grounds surrounding it.
Uploaded
December 12th, 2015
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