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    Kenosha
    Kenosha
    Kenosha
    Ebook149 pages38 minutes

    Kenosha

    By Jennifer Billock

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    About this ebook

    Kenosha is a suburb of both Chicago and Milwaukee, and it draws visitors from both metro areas and from all over the United States. A historic downtown, frequent community events, and a fierce dedication to the arts have catapulted the city into tourism stardom. Although big businesses have steadily come and gone, the residential population remains strong. From family-owned stores that have been downtown for nearly 100 years, to a vintage streetcar system still in use, to a new minor-league baseball team, residents put their entire hearts into maintaining the city's culture and pride.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateJun 22, 2015
    ISBN9781439652077
    Kenosha
    Author

    Jennifer Billock

    Jennifer Billock is an award-winning writer, bestselling author, editor and owner of the boutique editorial firm Jennifer Billock Creative Services. She has worked with businesses and publishers, including the Smithsonian, the New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, Disney Books, The Atlantic, Kraft Foods, Midwest Living, Arcadia Publishing and the MSU Press. She is currently dreaming of an around-the-world trip with her Boston terrier. Check out her website at www.jenniferbillock.com and follow her on Twitter @jenniferbillock.

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      Book preview

      Kenosha - Jennifer Billock

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      INTRODUCTION

      In spring 1835, early explorers came to Kenosha on a whim, after a disagreement with landowners farther north—the city was meant to be where Racine is now. A failed business deal sparked an argument that forced the potential landowners out of town, and they headed south to Pike Creek on June 6, 1835.

      The exploration party settled there, taking on the name given to the area by fur traders. Pike Creek did not stay Pike Creek though. The next year, a post office was established under the name Pike, and the settlement name changed with it. In 1837, it changed yet again. Townspeople held a meeting to rename the area and decided on Southport, as it was located at the southernmost Wisconsin port on Lake Michigan. The town was officially incorporated in 1850, and with that came another name change. Finally, one stuck. Locals decided to name the town Kenosha, a mixture of place and history. At that point, Pike Creek had grown to become Pike River, and it bisected downtown, forming a little peninsula with the Pike on two sides and the lake on one. Native Ojibwa Indians noticed that pike and trout reproduced at this meeting place of lake and river, and labeled the land Masu-kinoja, or place where fish spawn. Kinoja became Kenosha, and the city has been named such ever since.

      Kenosha has grown up around that little peninsula in the Pike River. From humble beginnings of just a few people, the city now sprawls out over roughly 27 square miles with a population of more than 100,000. The peninsula is still there, still surrounded by the Pike, but now it is called Simmons Island and has a sprawling park and beach, a beach house listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and two lighthouses. During 1837, about 141 boats came calling on Kenosha, and the town decided to put a lighthouse on Simmons Island. The early incarnation was a thing of beauty—a 10-foot-tall oak stump topped with a wooden platform lined with rocks. Every night, the lighthouse keeper would light a fire on the rocks so boats would know where to go. The current light, the Southport Lighthouse, did not arrive until 1866. The other lighthouse in Kenosha, the North Pier Light, arrived 40 years later, in 1906. It was painted red, typical of lighthouses that dotted the Lake Michigan coast, and built to match a twin lighthouse in Milwaukee. In 2011, the North Pier Light was deemed excess by the Coast Guard and auctioned off to the highest bidder. John Burhani, a local artist, bought the light for $5,000 and transformed it into his art studio. The light is located on the north pier of Simmons Island.

      Simmons Island has a unique history all its own. For a year, beginning in 1835, it was the site of a miniature war: the Resique War. Samuel Resique and John Noble were two explorers from Chicago. In July 1835, they left the city and came north to Kenosha. They noticed right away that the land had been claimed, but decided to stay a while and enjoy the scenery. Then they happened upon Simmons Island. The land was still wild, although owned by the Pike Creek settlement, and had no buildings or residents on it. Resique and Noble decided to claim the island as their own and set to work building a cabin. Once construction was complete, Resique left for Chicago to obtain supplies and bring them back home. While he was gone, Pike Creek residents realized the two were basically squatters on the island, attempting to keep it, and ordered Noble off the land. Noble, of course, refused, and then the real battle began. Early morning on July 25, six men armed with axes quietly boated over to the island. They did not come for a fight though—once they set foot on the island, the men began chopping down trees and building a fence. They

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