Recently, Jeremy D’Entremont of the US Lighthouse Society sat down with our acting President, Jake Heffernan to talk about our history and the restoration underway. Jeremy hosts a podcast for the USLHS called "Light Hearted," bringing together lighthouse enthusiasts and preservationists of all kinds.
Listen to the Podcast here
In 1836, rumors of gold in a muddy river on the west shore of Lake Michigan near modern day Green Bay, Wisconsin, spurred the creation of what would become the City of Kewaunee. The arrival of a railroad in the late 1800s led to increased shipping in the area, and in 1880-81 two long piers were built at the entrance to the harbor. In the years that followed there were a number of reconfigurations of the piers and lighthouses in the harbor.
In late 1930, a car ferry collided with the south pier and badly damaged a small lighthouse tower that stood adjacent to a fog signal building. The damaged pier was repaired and a square, wooden lighthouse tower was added on the roof of the fog signal building, giving the lighthouse the appearance it has now.
The City of Kewaunee was granted ownership of the lighthouse in 2011. Thanks to the assistance of the nonprofit Friends of the Kewaunee Pierhead Lighthouse, much restoration has been carried out in the past decade. The guest in this episode, Jake Heffernan, is the acting president and historian for the Friends of the Kewaunee Pierhead Lighthouse.
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