In the 19th century, many harbor towns sprang up on the scalloped edges of Lake Michigan, owing their existence to timber and lumber industries, shipbuilding, farming and manufacturing.
In 1837, under appointment by the Board of Navy Commissioners, Lieutenant G.J. Pendergrast examined sites for lighthouses along the southwest edge of Lake Michigan.
About 25 miles south of Milwaukee, along the Root River, he found the flourishing town of Racine with its 400-500 inhabitants. Pendergrast recommended that the General Government build a harbor there for ease of navigation and because of Racine’s prospect of becoming a place of importance. He was correct about Racine’s prospects because Racine would be incorporated as a village in 1841 and a city in 1848 the same year the State of Wisconsin entered the Union. With a population of about 80,000, Racine is now the 5th largest city in Wisconsin.
Back in 1837, Lieutenant Pendergrast recommended that a lighthouse be built on a dangerous reef two and a half miles off shore. He also recommended another one be built on a bluff near the town and that its light be a revolving one, so as to prevent it from being mistaken for the light at Milwaukee. Thus, Racine’s first lighthouse would be a 28 foot tall brick tower first lit in 1839. However, ships traveling south couldn’t see the light because of a point of land that juts into Lake Michigan known then as Racine Point.
In 1869, the first light, an iron can buoy, was placed onto the reef but proved to be insufficient. A concrete crib would be built as well as several other iron towers with gas lights but they would often go out during storms. In December, 1900, a ship carrying lumber struck the reef causing 90,000ft of wood to be lost but all of the crew would be saved. This may have been the impetus to build a large, proper beacon on the reef.
Finally, in 1905, this picturesque Victorian building was finished. It served southern Lake Michigan ship traffic for five decades and was electrified in 1954. But Racine Reef lighthouse could not withstand the test of time and even with its modern upgrades was demolished in the summer of 1961 over a two month period by a crew brought to the reef in a tugboat appropriately named Racine. This once-dangerous reef is what present-day Reef Point Marina is named after. An automated iron skeletal tower now guards these waters.
Orlando Metcalfe Poe was a former Brigadier General in the Civil War who, in 1865, became the Lighthouse Board's chief engineer. In 1870, he was promoted to the position of Chief Engineer of the Upper Great Lakes 11th Lighthouse District. He is known for designing "Poe style lighthouses" examples of which include Grosse Point in Evanston, Illinois, Rawley Point in Wisconsin, Au Sable, Little Sable and Big Sable, Seul Choix and New Presque Isle, all in Michigan.
Moving up the coast, we soon come to that troublesome point of land jutting into Lake Michigan and another lighthouse, a 108-foot-tall beacon that Poe also designed.
Poe also designed 108 foot tall Wind Point lighthouse but it would take 41 years from when Racine’s first lighthouse was built and Wind Point lighthouse was lit to guide ships around Racine Point and warn ships of the upcoming reef.
Wind Point lighthouse was built in 1880 and lit on November 15 of that year. The beacon was originally powered by a three-wicked kerosene lamp, magnified by a third-order Fresnel lens. A cast-iron spiral staircase with 144 steps and five landings winds up the inside of the tower to the watchroom and lantern room, which are each encircled by a gallery.
Supposedly the Lighthouse Service records began referring to the station as Wind Point instead of Racine Point after the new lighthouse replaced a tall, windblown tree on the point that was a familiar landmark for mariners on Lake Michigan.
On December 5th, 1923, the light was only the second on Lake Michigan to be electrified. This 300 watt bulb was replaced by an airport beacon in 1964.
The village of Wind Point was incorporated in 1954 and has about 1700 residents. The park and lighthouse were transferred from the U.S. Coast Guard to the Village of Wind Point in 1997 with the stipulation that it be maintained as an historical landmark.
In the summer of 2007, the lighthouse tower underwent a $210,000 restoration, during which windows and doors were replaced, brickwork repointed, tower repainted and the failed beacon was modernized.
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 lighthouse is open for tours on certain dates and it’s an easy drive from Chicago and Milwaukee.
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