Kewaunee Pierhead Light

The Kewaunee Pierhead lighthouse is a lighthouse located near Kewaunee in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin. The lighthouse looks nearly identical to the Holland Harbor Lighthouse, except that it is colored white.^[2]

Kewaunee Pierhead Light

Location	Kewaunee, Wisconsin
Coordinates	44°27′26.67″N 87°29′34.4″W[1]
Tower
Constructed	1912/1931
Foundation	Pier
Construction	Steel and brick, wood frame upper
Automated	1981
Height	43 feet (13 m)
Shape	Square[1]
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place, listed in the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places
Light
First lit	1931
Focal height	13.5 m (44 ft)
Lens	Fifth order Fresnel lens
Range	15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi)[1]
Characteristic	White, Fixed[1]

History

The original light marking the entrance to Kewaunee was established in 1889 on the North pier.

In 1912, the current South pier was built. The lighthouse was built as an open frame tower with a fog signal building immediately behind it, connected by a 2nd floor corridor. The tower was equipped with a fifth order Fresnel lens and the fog signal building supplied compressed air to a 10" diameter chime fog whistle, manufactured by Crosby Steam Gauge and Valve Company.^[3]

In 1919, the compressed air whistle was replaced by a compressed air Type F Diaphone fog horn. A 1972 recording of the fog horn was inducted into the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress in 2005.^[4]

In 1931, the open frame tower was removed a tower was built out of the roof of the fog signal building, giving the lighthouse the appearance it has now. The old open frame tower was later reconstructed as the Chicago Harbor Southeast Guidewall Lighthouse, where it still stands today.

The lighthouse was automated in 1981. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.^[5]

Current status

The City of Kewaunee was granted ownership of the lighthouse in September 2011, as part of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act (NHLPA).^[6] The Friends of the Kewaunee Pierhead Lighthouse was established as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and works to raise funds to restore the lighthouse.

The Fresnel lens remained until June 6, 2019, when it was replaced with a Vega Industries VLB-44 LED light.^[7] The US Coast Guard maintains the light and the electronic fog horn.

The Fresnel lens was moved and placed on display at the Kewaunee County History Center located at 217 Ellis St.

The lighthouse is in the process of being restored and is occasionally open for tours.

Gallery

• 
  The configuration of the lighthouse from 1912 - 1931, with an open frame tower and the fog signal building behind it. This photo was taken in 1914 when the fog signal was a 10" diameter compressed air whistle
• 
  The configuration of the lighthouse from 1912 - 1931, with an open frame tower and the fog signal building behind it. This photo was taken between 1919 and 1930 when the fog signal was a compressed air diaphone.
• 
  The lighthouse as seen after the tower was built into the roof of the fog signal building. This change occurred in 1931 and left the lighthouse looking as it does today.^[8] This image was taken in the 1950s, prior to the pier being widened and capped.
• 
  Kewaunee Lighthouse in 1965 at the completion of the pier widening and capping project. The dual diaphones are visible as well as the Fresnel Lens.
• 
  The 5th order Fresnel Lens in Kewaunee's Pierhead lighthouse sees one of its last sunsets before being removed from the tower
• 
  The new 5 tier LED (Vega VLB-44) light installed by the US Coast Guard on June 6, 2019
• 

References

1. Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard. 2014.
2. "Holland Harbor Lighthouse". lighthouse.boatnerd.com. Archived from the original on 2008-09-07. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
3. "Kewaunee Pierhead Lighthouse". Lighthousefriends.com. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
4. "Complete National Recording Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
5. "Weekly listing". National Park Service.
6. "Kewaunee Pierhead Lighthouse". CITY OF KEWAUNEE, WISCONSIN. Archived from the original on 2021-05-08. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
7. Clough, Christopher. "Fresnel lenses gone from Kewaunee County lighthouses, going to museums". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
8. "Seeing The Light - Kewaunee Pier Lighthouse". www.terrypepper.com. Retrieved 2021-04-22.

Further reading

• Havighurst, Walter (1943) The Long Ships Passing: The Story of the Great Lakes, Macmillan Publishers.
• Oleszewski, Wes, Great Lakes Lighthouses, American and Canadian: A Comprehensive Directory/Guide to Great Lakes Lighthouses, (Gwinn, Michigan: Avery Color Studios, Inc., 1998) ISBN 0-932212-98-0.
• Pepper, Terry. "Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes". Archived from the original on 2008-01-30.
• Sapulski, Wayne S., (2001) Lighthouses of Lake Michigan: Past and Present (Paperback) (Fowlerville: Wilderness Adventure Books) ISBN 0-923568-47-6; ISBN 978-0-923568-47-4.
• Wright, Larry and Wright, Patricia, Great Lakes Lighthouses Encyclopedia Hardback (Erin: Boston Mills Press, 2006) ISBN 1-55046-399-3.

External links

Media related to Kewaunee Pierhead Light at Wikimedia Commons

• Friends of the Kewaunee Pierhead Lighthouse
• Aerial photographs of Kewaunee Pierhead Light at Marinas.com.
• Terry Pepper, Seeing the light, Kewaunee Pier light.
• Lighthouse Friends
• NPS Inventory of Historic Light Stations - Wisconsin Archived 2006-02-09 at the Wayback Machine
• Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Eastern Wisconsin". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Wisconsin". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.
• Light List, Volume VII, Great Lakes (PDF). Light List. United States Coast Guard.