Alex Series #3 - Southport Lighthouse Traditional Geocache
Alex Series #3 - Southport Lighthouse
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
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This cache is hidden on The Southport Light Station property with permission from the Museum Director. The property is open to the public from Dawn to Dusk. Please be careful of the grounds, plants, and flowers. We have placed this cache in memory of our son, Alex. This cache is the third in a series about him. We light this lighthouse in memory of Alex on his birthday.
History of the 1866 Southport Lighthouse The Kenosha Southport Lighthouse, built in 1866, is the third government lighthouse built on Simmons Island, formerly Washington Island, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The tower is constructed of Milwaukee Cream City brick and is conical in shape. The height of the tower from the base to the lens focal plane is 55 feet, with an added 19 feet from the base to the water level, making the focal plane of the light 74 feet above the lake level. The original light was a fixed white light, varied by flashes, from the fourth order Fresnel lens. Originally designated as a coast and harbor light, the light station was the first navigational light a mariner would see upon entering Wisconsin from Chicago. It was functional until 1906 at which time it was replaced by taller light stations built to the north and south. A new pierhead lighthouse located on the north harbor pier identifies the harbor entrance. The lantern room was removed around 1913 and replaced with a 25-foot tripod mast for the display of storm warning flags and lights. The weather signal tower was removed in the 1960's, at which time the Southport tower was boarded up. A 1989 restoration feasibility study by the Kenosha County Historical Society led to the preservation of the tower. A replica of the lantern room was positioned on the tower on May 7, 1994, completing the first phase of restoration. The 1866 Kenosha (Southport) Light Station is listed on the Wisconsin and National Register of Historic Places. How do I light the lighthouse? Families, friends, individuals or organizations can light the 1866 lighthouse for a special person, occasion, anniversary, birthday or memoriam. Lighting the lighthouse is done as a package; the lighthouse is lit the evening of the requested date from dusk to dawn and an accompanying ad may be placed in the Kenosha News that morning. The ad will always have a sketch of the lighthouse and says, "THE LIGHT SHINES. Tonight the 1866 Kenosha Southport Lighthouse shines in..." Please call (262)654-5770 Ext 109 or 107. We have the lighthouse lit every year on April 8th which is Alex’s birthday. If you come on that evening My wife and I will be there at sunset. The information above is copied from The Kenosha History Center: http://www.kenoshahistorycenter.org/light2.htm Alex's Series: #1 Story Telling (GC1AV5X) #2 WSQ Sunset Ridge (GC1BHRV) #3 Southport Lighthouse (GC31P3K)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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