Kenosha Off The Beaten Path Tips by deecat

The Jelly Belly Center

If you love Jelly Belly gourmet jelly beans, then, for sure, you will want to take a tour of the Jelly Belly Center in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin (right next to Kenosha, Wisconsin)

The experience will be quite fun, as they offer a superb shopping experience in their fabulous candy store, super snacks in their snack bar, and a free train ride. It's known as "America's favorite Jelly bean". You start from Jelly Belly Junction and tour the large warehouse and distribution center. It takes 30 minutes, making stops at a variety of Stations with large screeh videos. There is a dancing chorus line of Jelly Belly characters and a six-foot giant jelly beans suspended from the ceiling. Then you can taste free samples and buy treats at the gift shop.

There are free train tours from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

The Goelitz Confectionery Company makes the Jelly Belly jelly bean. In 1976, a Los Angeles candy distributor had an idea for a jelly bean made with natural flavorings. He called the candymakers known as Herman Goelitz Candy Company. The candymakers cooked up a recipe for a new kind of jelly bean, using natural ingredients for flavoring when possible. 1976 brought the first 8 Jelly Belly flavors [Very Cherry, Lemon, Cream Soda, Tangerine, Green Apple, Root Beer, Grape, and Licorice. Today, the company is known as Confections by Jelly Belly The company still makes Candy Corn and about 100 other candies.

When Jelly Belly became the favorite of Ronald Reagan, the company came up with Blueberry flavor so the president could serve red, white, and blue beans at his inaugural parties. Jelly Belly was also the first jelly bean in outer space with the space shuttle Challenger in 1983.

Today, Jelly Belly is the #1 gourmet jelly bean...and, there are now 50 different flavors!.

Other Contact: Corner of HWy 165 & Green Bay Rd

Phone: 1-866-868-7522

Website: http://www.JellyBelly.com

Simmons Island Park

When we left the Harbor Park area, we drove the car to Simmons Island to get a closer look at the two historic lighthouses, Pierhead Lighthouse [1906], (See Photo #5) affectionately known as "Big Red" and Southport Light Station [1866]. In addition, we were pleased to get a close-up look at the other harbor called Kenosha Harbor.

There is also an historic Beach House that is listed on the National Register. It's a Tudor Revival structure at 5001 Simmons Island. The building is made of concrete, brick, slate and wood.

Also, there is a HUGE Public Lake Michigan Beach(See Photo #4) near the park. We noted a paved bike trail and two playgrounds. One of the playgrounds was on the beach!

We were impressed with how far the Simmons Island Lakeshore goes and how rugged it seems with all the huge Rocks. (See Photo #3)

The U.S. Coast Guard is located in this area across from Simmons Island Park. (See Photo #2).

Simmons Island is another of the many interesting and fun places to visit while in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Underground Railroad Connection

I try never to miss an Historical Marker as I travel for fear that I will miss something quite significant. I'm so glad I did not miss the Historical Marker in Kenosha, Wisconsin in the Library Square as we walked toward Lake Michigan.

This Historical Marker concerns the "Underground Railroad" connection to Kenosha. The marker reads:

REUBEN DEMING

Deming was born in Vermont in 1789 and
came to the Village of Southport, later
renamed Kenosha, in 1836. Deming was
a Methodist preacher and a staunch
supporter of the anti-slavery movement.
For Methodists, slavery was considered
the worst of social wrongs.

In the 1850s, Kenosha was an active
stop on the "Underground Railroad."
This "railroad" was a covert networkof people who hid southern slaves in
their homes before they were smuggled
onto ships bound for Canada. Deming's
residence, originally located near this
site, is believed to have been a stop on
the "Underground Railroad."

This marker was erected in 2002 by the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Deming allowed slaves to stay in his attic until the ships were ready to leave Kenosha harbor. His family, including his own children,were sworn to secrecy about this fact.

Reuben Deming was a man who believed that educating children was important. He helped to open free schools in Kenosha in 1845. It was the first free school built west of the Allegheny Mountains!

Rueben and his wife are buried in the Green Ridge Cemetery in Kenosha.

I'm always pleased when I am able to view a home or a location connected the the Underground Railroad System.