Asylum Point Lighthouse and Picnic Point Snakes and WMHI Cemetery LbNA #61759 (ARCHIVED)
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Add Location| Owner: | The Gamer Ruettens  |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | May 12, 2012 |
| Location: | Asylum Point |
| City: | Oshkosh |
| County: | Winnebago |
| State: | Wisconsin |
| Boxes: | 2 |
| Found by: | Crafty Adventurer (2) |
|---|---|
| Last found: | Nov 6, 2020 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFFFFaaaaFaar |
| Last edited: | Nov 10, 2020 |
As of August 2020 we placed a backup Lighthouse stamp in a temporary location. Modified clues in the text.
Asylum Point Lighthouse and Picnic Point Snakes
This area is a combination of several land-use/management areas: There is the Winnebago County Asylum Point boat launch; The Wisconsin DNR Picnic Point Fisheries Area; The Wisconsin DNR Asylum Point Rough Fish Station; The Winnebago Mental Health Picnic Point Recreation Area; and a portion of the City of Oshkosh that is a game refuge. There are archaeological sites and historic locations on the property, as well as many trails and wildlife habitat and is being restored to the native grasses and trees.
To find this area, find Snell Road which intersects Highway 76 and County Road A south of Winnebago Mental Health Institute and just north of Oshkosh proper. Off of County Road A, Snell Road heads east toward Lake Winnebago. There are signs for The Winnebago County Asylum Point Boat landing. Snell intersects Sherman Road, where you turn south (right). Take Sherman east and you will pass the boat landing on your right, then a parking area on your left as the road turns south. Park here (or you can come back after finding the Lighthouse) and continue on foot along the road to the south to the parking lot in front of the lighthouse.
Asylum Point Lighthouse-
(Note: the bridge to the island is out of commission right now. Also the Snake box had gone missing. Start using the clues to the Picnic Point Snakes box for the temporary Lighthouse stamp.)
On this point in 1871, construction began on the Northern Asylum for the Insane. The name of the institute was later changed to Winnebago Mental Health Institute, reflecting perhaps an increasingly sensitive public, but the hospital’s original name has been forever connected with the surrounding geography. The promontory is still known as Asylum Point, and the surrounding water is called Asylum Bay.
The lighthouse, reportedly the result of a 1937 project of the Works Progress Administration, was rejected by the Department of Transportation as a navigational light for the lake and was thus never lit. In 2007, the lighthouse received a $4,000 makeover with labor provided by inmates from the Winnebago Correctional Institute. Parts of the wooden lantern room were replaced, windows were refitted, and the metal roof was rebuilt.
Starting at the foot of bridge that crosses to the island with the lighthouse: Count the number of pilings that make up the bridge. A-______(Only the round pilings, not the rectangular pieces.) Cross the bridge and make your way to the lighthouse. Find the window closest to the ground, and count the number of iron bars across its face. B-_______
Turn west and head the length of the island, following a path that stays closest to the bay side on the south. When you come to the end of this path you should find a clearing with several large pieces of concrete on the shore and a large metal box that is probably filled with junk. From the northernmost corner of this box, count A paces straight north until you come to the southern end of a large willow tree that has fallen over roots and all. There is a narrow trail (Weeds may make this disappear) that goes north around this on the island side. Take B paces along this path then turn west. Look at the ground between the large sections of the willow, there is a root that runs along the ground, in front of it is a piece of concrete that hides a hole under the root. Here you should find the Lighthouse. Be careful to be discrete if there are people fishing nearby.
There is a trail that continues on the north side of the island that you can use to get back or just back the way you came.
Picnic Point Snakes (Temporary home to the Lighthouse stamp)
Picnic Point is a State Fishery Area that is named after the point of land owned by the Winnebago Mental Health Institution. The lodge and bunkhouses on the property are for use by family and patients of WMHI. Picnic Point Fishery Area includes 58 acres of agricultural fields and 53 acres of brush/wooded habitat. There is over 3700 feet of pristine Lake Winnebago shoreline. The upland habitat has historically been used for agricultural production but is being converted to tall-grass prairie, short-grass prairie, and oak savanna.
You can park in the parking area at the turn in the road to the right, just before the parking area near the island that has the actual lighthouse. Walk out along the shoreline as it heads north into a more thickly wooded area. There are multiple trails in this area, but the trail you want is closest to the water). Take this trail further north into the woods until you find a fork in the trail with a large dead tree at it's center. One trail goes straight and the other closer to the lake. Take the right path, on to the large fallen tree that has been cut for the path. Continue until an other fork, the right going down the lake (recommend checking this area out, it's very nice) the left going straight yet. Continue straight until you see a large pile of rocks and a large cut stump. At the base of the stump is a log from this tree. At it's right it had a large branch, under this is a hole where you will find the box.
October 4th, 2020, we added a new box to this series! A haunting and sad place with an interesting history.
WMHI Cemetery:
Continue on the path to the clearing. You will come upon an asphalt road. Take the road to the left. You will come to a gravel path on your left. Take the path towards the sign and two pillars. Make sure to read the signs.
Notice the 3 prominently displayed years.
The dedication of the newer plaque minus the year the cemetery opened: A__
The year the cemetery closed minus the year it opened: B__
Add A and B to get your approximate compass bearing
Stand between the two stone pillars facing the flag. Take a compass reading. Head to the break in the chain fence at approx that compass reading.
Go to the right around the bent fence post and take 19 steps to tree along this fence-line. The box is at the base of this tree.
Now you can head SE on the trail to get back to your car. It will be swampy on your right. Stay to the right at the Y. Keep straight the rest of the way.
Hike length: 0.5 miles
Asylum Point Lighthouse and Picnic Point Snakes
This area is a combination of several land-use/management areas: There is the Winnebago County Asylum Point boat launch; The Wisconsin DNR Picnic Point Fisheries Area; The Wisconsin DNR Asylum Point Rough Fish Station; The Winnebago Mental Health Picnic Point Recreation Area; and a portion of the City of Oshkosh that is a game refuge. There are archaeological sites and historic locations on the property, as well as many trails and wildlife habitat and is being restored to the native grasses and trees.
To find this area, find Snell Road which intersects Highway 76 and County Road A south of Winnebago Mental Health Institute and just north of Oshkosh proper. Off of County Road A, Snell Road heads east toward Lake Winnebago. There are signs for The Winnebago County Asylum Point Boat landing. Snell intersects Sherman Road, where you turn south (right). Take Sherman east and you will pass the boat landing on your right, then a parking area on your left as the road turns south. Park here (or you can come back after finding the Lighthouse) and continue on foot along the road to the south to the parking lot in front of the lighthouse.
Asylum Point Lighthouse-
(Note: the bridge to the island is out of commission right now. Also the Snake box had gone missing. Start using the clues to the Picnic Point Snakes box for the temporary Lighthouse stamp.)
On this point in 1871, construction began on the Northern Asylum for the Insane. The name of the institute was later changed to Winnebago Mental Health Institute, reflecting perhaps an increasingly sensitive public, but the hospital’s original name has been forever connected with the surrounding geography. The promontory is still known as Asylum Point, and the surrounding water is called Asylum Bay.
The lighthouse, reportedly the result of a 1937 project of the Works Progress Administration, was rejected by the Department of Transportation as a navigational light for the lake and was thus never lit. In 2007, the lighthouse received a $4,000 makeover with labor provided by inmates from the Winnebago Correctional Institute. Parts of the wooden lantern room were replaced, windows were refitted, and the metal roof was rebuilt.
Starting at the foot of bridge that crosses to the island with the lighthouse: Count the number of pilings that make up the bridge. A-______(Only the round pilings, not the rectangular pieces.) Cross the bridge and make your way to the lighthouse. Find the window closest to the ground, and count the number of iron bars across its face. B-_______
Turn west and head the length of the island, following a path that stays closest to the bay side on the south. When you come to the end of this path you should find a clearing with several large pieces of concrete on the shore and a large metal box that is probably filled with junk. From the northernmost corner of this box, count A paces straight north until you come to the southern end of a large willow tree that has fallen over roots and all. There is a narrow trail (Weeds may make this disappear) that goes north around this on the island side. Take B paces along this path then turn west. Look at the ground between the large sections of the willow, there is a root that runs along the ground, in front of it is a piece of concrete that hides a hole under the root. Here you should find the Lighthouse. Be careful to be discrete if there are people fishing nearby.
There is a trail that continues on the north side of the island that you can use to get back or just back the way you came.
Picnic Point Snakes (Temporary home to the Lighthouse stamp)
Picnic Point is a State Fishery Area that is named after the point of land owned by the Winnebago Mental Health Institution. The lodge and bunkhouses on the property are for use by family and patients of WMHI. Picnic Point Fishery Area includes 58 acres of agricultural fields and 53 acres of brush/wooded habitat. There is over 3700 feet of pristine Lake Winnebago shoreline. The upland habitat has historically been used for agricultural production but is being converted to tall-grass prairie, short-grass prairie, and oak savanna.
You can park in the parking area at the turn in the road to the right, just before the parking area near the island that has the actual lighthouse. Walk out along the shoreline as it heads north into a more thickly wooded area. There are multiple trails in this area, but the trail you want is closest to the water). Take this trail further north into the woods until you find a fork in the trail with a large dead tree at it's center. One trail goes straight and the other closer to the lake. Take the right path, on to the large fallen tree that has been cut for the path. Continue until an other fork, the right going down the lake (recommend checking this area out, it's very nice) the left going straight yet. Continue straight until you see a large pile of rocks and a large cut stump. At the base of the stump is a log from this tree. At it's right it had a large branch, under this is a hole where you will find the box.
October 4th, 2020, we added a new box to this series! A haunting and sad place with an interesting history.
WMHI Cemetery:
Continue on the path to the clearing. You will come upon an asphalt road. Take the road to the left. You will come to a gravel path on your left. Take the path towards the sign and two pillars. Make sure to read the signs.
Notice the 3 prominently displayed years.
The dedication of the newer plaque minus the year the cemetery opened: A__
The year the cemetery closed minus the year it opened: B__
Add A and B to get your approximate compass bearing
Stand between the two stone pillars facing the flag. Take a compass reading. Head to the break in the chain fence at approx that compass reading.
Go to the right around the bent fence post and take 19 steps to tree along this fence-line. The box is at the base of this tree.
Now you can head SE on the trail to get back to your car. It will be swampy on your right. Stay to the right at the Y. Keep straight the rest of the way.
Hike length: 0.5 miles