The deck capstan (or windlass) was used on 19th Century schooners to raise the anchor or sails, and to load & unload cargo. By the 1880's, some schooners were equipped with a steam-powered donkey engine to speed the work. — — Map (db m225179) HM
1880: Two wooden buildings
1900: Replaced with brick structure
Signal Equipment:
Browne 1st Class Auto Compressed Air
Siren driven by Hornsby-Akroyd engine
Two Copper Trumpets (still in place
above doors)
Crosby Automatic Time . . . — — Map (db m69211) HM
Flammable liquids were stored here, away from the Keeper's House which had wood burning stoves. Lamp oil was carried from here to the tower top in five gallon cans. Note the vents on the front and rear walls to carry away flammable fumes. Oil . . . — — Map (db m69198) HM
East of the oil house are the remains of a T-shaped pier which jutted into the lake. The "Hyacinth", a Coast Guard tender, would dock there periodically to bring supplies, kerosene, the "library book box" and a welcome visit from . . . — — Map (db m225142) HM
This rail was used to carry the surf boat from in front of the oil house to the end of the pier where the surf boat was lowered into the lake by jib hoist. — — Map (db m69200) HM
Orlando Metcalfe Poe (1832-1895) was the architect of the Wind Point
Lighthouse. In 1865, Poe was named chief engineer of the U.S. Lighthouse Board. He designed and oversaw the construction of nine lighthouses on Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake . . . — — Map (db m225186) HM
The Wind Point Light Station has had fog signals from the very first days. The horns used a steam engine to force compressed air through the horn to make the sound. In 1880, two separate wooden structures housed the two fog horns.
In 1900, . . . — — Map (db m225237) HM
In 1893 a fuel house was erected to house the kerosene fuel for the light. The U.S.
Lighthouse Service had mandated separate storage of the highly flammable fuel. In 1910, the current concrete fuel house replaced the original. There are two . . . — — Map (db m225180) HM
The lighthouse was originally fitted with a one-ton, five-foot tall Fresnel lens manufactured in France. This 12-sided lens surrounded a kerosene lamp with multiple wicks. Three hundred hand ground optical glass prisms and 12 bullseyes concentrated . . . — — Map (db m225253) HM
In 1878, the U.S. Congress appropriated $40,000 to build the Wind Point Light Station for operation by the U.S. Lighthouse Service. At the time, Racine was the fifth busiest port in the Great Lakes region. Ships were the primary means of . . . — — Map (db m226014) HM
To assist navigation around the point into Racine harbor, the Wind Point Lighthouse began functioning in 1880 with a kerosene lamp, focused and magnified by a third order Fresnel lens. Its light could be seen for 19 miles.
At 108 feet, it is . . . — — Map (db m225139) HM
