Pleasant Prairie, WI to Milwaukee, WI

September 3, 2023

Day 9

After enjoying our breakfast at the hotel, we left at 9 am heading east along a bike trail along side Russell Road.

The object today was to ride to Kenosha and wait for the lighthouse to open at noon, then cover the next twenty miles to Wind Point where we had booked a 2:30 pm tour of the Wind Point Lighthouse including a climb to the top at 108 feet tall. In between we also needed to stop and look at the lighthouses in Racine. Seemed doable but we would need to hustle a bit.

We crossed over the dividing line between the watershed of the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan at an elevation of 707 feet.

We rejoined the Kenosha County Bike Trail and headed south for a mile then turned east again.

Once reaching the shore of the lake we headed north along 1st Ave. It was great to be out by the lake with some views.

Lake view. Great weather although it would get hot later. Kenosha County.

The whole area around Kenosha is a great cycling area with well marked routes and bike trails. I hope to come back and visit again.
We arrived in Kenosha at 10:30 am and rode out to the south pier where we got a view of the Kenosha Pierhead Lighthouse on the north pier.

The Kenosha (Southport) Lighthouse didn’t open until 12 noon so we ate in the park as a band did their sound check for a Labor Weekend festival taking place. They played some great tunes while we relaxed in the shade.

There were an abundance of dragon flies flying around and we were to continue to see them each time we stopped.

Vintage Street Cars ran regularly around the park.

After lunch we crossed the bridge over the harbor to Kenosha (Southport) Lighthouse and waited another 30 minutes in the shade. We probably could have biked out on the north pier to the to the pierhead light but never really occurred to us. It was just to nice spending time in the shade.

Once the lighthouse opened, I obtained 2 stamps and we did a quick tour of their extensive museum inside the lighthouse building. Unfortunately our time was very limited as we had 20 miles to ride to Wind Point Lighthouse where we had booked a 2:30pm tour. The last for the day.

Plan to come back here again, one for the extensive cycling and two to spend more time at this museum.

Kenosha (Southport) Lighthouse

The first lighthouse in the area was erected on Simmons Island in 1848. After discovering the bricks used in the construction were inadequate, a new tower was contracted in 1858. A brick one-and-a-half-story keeper’s house was also constructed.

A report from 1865 noted that this tower was also crumbling due to weather therefore the tower was once again rebuilt. This is the present lighthouse and was completed in 1866. At the same time a new keepers house was built.

On May 23, 1906, Kenosha Lighthouse was permanently discontinued, and its lens was transferred to a metal tower erected on the north pier. In 1908 a redbrick addition was made to the keepers house and in 1913 the lantern room was removed. After the keepers left in 1948 the light station was vacant and almost torn down but the local residents helped save the property which was transferred to the the City of Kenosha in 1955.

Kenosha Pierhead Lighthouse

In 1848, a wooden beacon was erected at the outer end of the north pier the same year the harbor lighthouse was built.

Repairs to the pier in 1865 necessitated a new lighthouse to be built which was lit in 1866.

The lighthouse was replaced again in 1906 with a metal tower and the Kenosha Harbor lens was installed. In 1925 the light was electrified.

The day was getting warm so we loaded up on water and head out on the Pike Bike trail, then transitioned over to the Kenosha County Bike Trail to head north. As the area gets more rural we are riding trails and roads with better views of the lake.

Just before Racine, we left the trail again and headed to the coast. Along Main Street Racine we find the Racine Museum where I knew they had the Racine Reef Lighthouse lens on display. The girl at the front counter didn't know where it was, but the museum wasn't that big and we eventually found it on the basement level along with some interesting displays.

The fourth order Fresnel Lens at Racine Reef 1899 to 1959.

Racine Reef Lighthouse

Nearly two miles from shore, a reef exists outside Racine Harbor. A buoy was placed on the reef in 1863 and replaced with a larger iron can buoy, painted red, in 1869. These proved insufficient at marking the reef, so metal tower and light was constructed on the reef during the summer of 1899. The light was powered by gas that was transported to the reef in tanks.

It was decided that a proper light with keepers was required and the Racine Reef Lighthouse and its fog signal went into service on October 6, 1906.

Racine Reef Lighthouse was automated in 1954 and in 1961, unfortunately the lighthouse was demolished. The Fresnel lens was removed from the tower and is now on display at the Racine Heritage Museum.

An automated skeletal metal tower was placed atop the pier at Racine Reef.

Once we reached the shoreline again we got a very distant view of the current Racine Reef Lighthouse.

Also across the harbor we got a view of the Racine Breakwater Lighthouse and the Racine (Root River) Lighthouse. As we were pressed for time, we didn’t ride or walk the pier. Besides, the older Racine (Root River) Lighthouse is inaccessible.

Once again, there were many dragon flies around the water.

Racine Breakwater Lighthouse. Wind Point Lighthouse in distance.

Racine Harbor (Root River) Lighthouse.

The first Root River lighthouse was a brick tower built on and was put into service in 1839. A keeper’s dwelling was built shoreward of the tower, near the present-day intersection of Seventh Street and Lake Avenue.

In 1865 construction started on a pier and a yellow brick lighthouse was completed in 1866. Now named the Racine Harbor Lighthouse, it used the lens from the old Root River Lighthouse, which was discontinued. The old lighthouse was sold and the owner used the bricks to construct a home on the site.

The pier was extended and a pierhead beacon and an elevated walkway to connect it to the 1866 lighthouse was completed in 1872.

In 1896, after the pier was extended again the pierhead tower was moved to the outer end of the pier.

In 1901, a new metal pierhead tower, the red one located on the breakwater at Racine today, was established.

Racine Harbor Lighthouse was discontinued on November 23, 1901, and its fourth order lens was placed in the metal tower.

The lantern and deck were removed from Racine Harbor Lighthouse along with its iron stairway, and its tower was capped with a hipped roof. A new wooden staircase was installed in the tower, and the attached dwelling was remodeled to provide an apartment for an assistant keeper on its second story and living quarters for the head keeper on the ground floor and basement.

Racine Breakwater Lighthouse

To aid protection from storms, in 1900 a breakwater was constructed beyond the piers at Racine harbor. A post light was exhibited on the northern breakwater and in 1904 the light was covered in metalwork to create a hexagonal, pyramidal tower that resembled an inverted funnel.

Initially there was only a northern breakwater and it wasn't attached to land but in 1907 work began to close the gap at the northern end of the breakwater and this was completed by 1912. At this time the north pier was removed and the square, metal tower was removed from the north pier and installed near the outer end of the south pier.

A southern breakwater was completed by 1924 and the square metal tower was transferred from the south pier to the breakwater where it still stands today.

As we still had another 5 miles to get to Wind Point but we could see it in the distance. We headed out again reaching Wind Point lighthouse at 2:15 pm., 15 minutes to spare. We took some photos and obtained the stamp for my passport.

Precisely at 2:30 pm, it was time to climb the tower. The tower was 144 steps to the top, and is 108 feet tall, and has a diameter of 22 feet at the base and 13 feet at the top.

Wind Point Lighthouse

For shipping from the north, Racine point obscured the 1835 lighthouse in Racine.

In 1878, congress appropriated $40,000 to build a coastal lighthouse and fog signal on Racine Point. Once the completed, the Lighthouse Service referred to the station as Wind Point instead of Racine Point.

The light and fog signal were placed in operation on November 15, 1880 and to warn of the dangers of Racine Reef, a red light was shown from a window in the watchroom. In 1897, a locomotive headlight with a parabolic reflector replaced a sixth-order lens as the light for covering Racine Reef. The reef light was discontinued on January 24, 1907, after a lighthouse was established on Racine Reef.

In 1923 the light was electrified and the lens was replaced in 1964 when the light was automated. The old lens is on display at the lighthouse.

First priority after leaving the lighthouse was to hydrate. We had filled our bottles at the lighthouse but needed something to get us the last 20 miles into Milwaukee. We found a gas station about 2 miles later and bought drinks and ate some food.

It was a hot and tough ride into Milwaukee, we rode back out to what was now called the MRK Trail, which was the same trail but had various names as we travelled north.

To avoid busy Hwy 32 and breaks in the trail, we zigged and zagged a couple of times. On Botting Road we rode on a rough surface where they had just carved off the asphalt ready for new sealing. That was fun.

We stopped a couple of times for photo opportunities of the lake and the Milwaukee skyline.

The last few miles we picked a trail along the lake but it was rough and we were tired, we probably should have just stuck to the road.

We arrived at our Warmshowers host, Pam in south Milwaukee somewhere around6 pm.. Once we were shown our sleeping quarters in her basement, she generously offered to cook us dinner. And delicious steak was on the menu.

Afterwards, Pam offered to take us on a car tour of Milwaukee. We gladly jumped at the chance. We drove north along the waterfront, past Bradford beach, through the Upper East side neighborhood with some magnificent houses then we passed by the North Point Lighthouse where I took the opportunity to stop and take a photo.

We won't visit this lighthouse tomorrow as it closed. The trip in Wisconsin is ending here as we take the ferry across the lake back to Michigan in the morning , we will pick up again at this point in another year to carry on north.

North Point Lighthouse

On March 3, 1837, Congress appropriated $5,000 for building a lighthouse at the mouth of the Milwaukee River. It was recommended to be built at the mouth of the river, but the lighthouse was erected about a mile to the north. The lighthouse commenced operation in 1839,

To correct the mistake, a new lighthouse was erected in 1855 on North Point, a headland at the northern end of Milwaukee Bay. and the structure was completed in 1855. The original lighthouse at Milwaukee was put up for auction.

By 1885, the lighthouse was in danger due to the cliff face eroding. A new tower was constructed and went into operation on January 10, 1888.

North Point Lighthouse was automated in 1943, but Coast Guard personnel continued to live at the station until 1994, when the fourth-order lens was removed from the tower and the station was discontinued.

The Fresnel lens removed from the tower in 1994 was returned to the station on May 20, 2009 and now revolves in a display case in the keeper’s dwelling. Also in the display case is a sixth-order Fresnel lens that served in the 1866 North Cut Beacon at the entrance to Milwaukee Harbor.

Next on our tour was Brady Street with all its nightlife, then downtown past Fiserv Forum where the Bucks play.

Lastly we stopped by Leon’s for some world famous custard. My treat.

Hundreds of people here on a hot long weekend evening.

World Famous. I imagined what it may have looked like in the 1950's with cars.

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Today's ride: 58 miles (93 km)
Total: 475 miles (764 km)

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