Lighthouses of Wisconsin - Racine Harbor |
4725 Lighthouse Dr, Racine, WI 53402
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Due to the abundance of intertwining roots in its riverbed, Native Americans named the river that empties into Lake Michigan at Racine Chippecotton, which means root. Europeans followed the Indians’ lead, and, depending upon their nationality, referred to the stream as Root River or Racine River – Racine is French for root.
Prints & DownloadsMapAlfred B. Finch, a Civil War veteran, served as the first head keeper at Wind Point
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LocationFrom Highway 32 on the northern side of the Root River in Racine, turn east on Dodge Street. When Dodge Street ends turn left onto Michigan Boulevard and then make an immediate right onto Reichert Court. Follow the road to its end, and you will see the light on your right.
This location has a Breakwater Lighthouse, the Racine Reef Lighthouse and the Racine Harbor (Root River) Lighthouse. Google Maps HERE HistoryKey Historical Highlights:
The Lighthouse Board noted in its 1862 report that the work of constructing a cribwork pier for the lighthouse at Racine had been delayed by the failure of the contractor to procure sufficient timber. The engineer in charge ordered that timber delivered to Milwaukee for a pier there be sent to Racine, but a scarcity of labor caused the work to be delayed until 1865, when after the arrival of the requisite materials, the work was “being vigorously pushed in order to secure it before the fall gales set in.” With the pier complete, a yellow brick lighthouse was constructed thereon in 1866. Built in a schoolhouse style, Racine Harbor Lighthouse resembled several others built on the Great Lakes at this time and consisted of a rectangular, one-and-a-half story dwelling with a square tower rising from its seaward side. The lighthouse was activated on September 10, 1866 using the fifth-order lens from the old Root River Lighthouse, which was discontinued. A fourth-order lens, which illuminated an arc of 270° instead of the 180° covered by the fifth-order lens, was placed in the lantern room in 1870, the same year the 1839 lighthouse was sold to L.S. Blake and James T. Elliott for $1,625. After Elliott became the sole owner of the lighthouse in 1876, he torn it and the adjacent keeper’s dwelling down and used the bricks to construct a home on the site. On June 26, 1867, a contract was let for extending the north pier 416 feet seaward. Once the pier was completed, work on erecting a pierhead beacon and an elevated walkway to connect it to the 1866 lighthouse was initiated in July 1872. Activated on September 5, the new lighthouse, a wooden, framework tower, painted white, exhibited a red light that ranged with the white light atop Racine Harbor Lighthouse to guide mariners into the harbor. Photography
EASY Access - You can pull your car up to the parking lot and walk a few yards to view the lighthouse.
Its difficult to get photos of the lighthouse and the water of Lake Michigan at the same time. |