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Volume 1 • Number 30
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Wednesday, JUne 3, 2015
Shining a light on the past Kenosha’s lighthouse is a beacon for local maritime history
By Sandra Landen Machaj CORRESPONDENT
Long before ships were guided through the waters by radar, captains piloted their ships from port to port with the help of beacons of light that shone along the lakeshore. Lighthouses could be found at every major port and some simply stood to prevent the ship from running aground in rocky shallow waters. The City of Kenosha had been a shipping port since the early 1800s when it was known as Southport. In the 1850s the port was used to import products into the area, mainly materials that were needed for the growth of the city. Building materials, especially lumber and coal, were the main products to be imported at that time. By 1900 wheat grown by the farmers in the area became a major export. In 1866 the federal government built the lighthouse that today stands on Simmons Island along Lighthouse Drive. It was not the first lighthouse to stand at this location. The original lighthouse was built on the site in 1848 and was SANDRA LANDEN MACHAJ Hi-Liter
The Kenosha lighthouse was built in 1866. It was the third lighthouse built at this location. It was constructed of Milwaukee Cream City brick.
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first replaced in 1858. The new 1866 lighthouse was 55 feet tall and was built of yellow Milwaukee Cream City bricks in a conical shape. Since it stood at the top of a hill, the light that projected from the beacon at the top of the lighthouse was 74 feet above sea level. Maintaining the light often required the lighthouse keeper to climb the 72-step, circular stairway to the top. According to Joe Caliendo, volunteer guide, there was a keeper’s room at the top and a widow’s walk can still be seen at the top of the lighthouse. Fresnel lens The light was projected from a fourth order Fresnel lens, which was fueled by kerosene. This produced a fixed white light, which was varied by flashes. The light was visible for 12.5 miles into the lake. A fog signal was added in1900. In 1867 the keeper’s house was officially finished, which provided a place to live for the keeper of the lighthouse and his family. The first lighthouse keeper of the1866 lighthouse was Joseph Merrill, a Civil War veteran who was appointed as the Head Keeper on December 26, 1865, a position that he retained until his death on December 7, 1871. Merrill made his home in the new light keeper’s cottage with his wife, Lorinda, and daughter Emma. Emma was listed as a schoolteacher in the census and in addition was commissioned as an assistant light keeper to her father. With the death of Joseph Merrill, Lorinda Merrill, Joseph’s widow, was appointed light keeper, a po-
SANDRA LANDEN MACHAJ Hi-Liter
Volunteer Joe Caliendo, explains the purpose of the Fresnel lens, which projected the light that beamed from the Kenosha lighthouse.
sition she served from December 1871 until June 1872. Some sources list Lorinda as the first woman lighthouse keeper in Wisconsin. Others state that she was one of few women keepers along the Lake Michigan shore. A second Civil War veteran, Louis Napoleon De Diemar, replaced Lorinda Merrill as the head lighthouse keeper. For De Diemar, the job was a challenging task as he had lost one hand in battle during the Civil War. De Diemar served in the First Volunteer Infantry of Wisconsin but was released after only
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14 months because of his injury. He worked as a bridge tender and as a farmer until his appointment as Head Lighthouse Keeper. His wife, Mary, served as assistant light keeper. De Diemar was the longest serving keeper, serving at 35 years. After his retirement, he moved to South Bend, Ind. De Diemar died in 1913 with Mary following in 1928. Both are buried in Green Ridge Cemetery.
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