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Kenoshan Lewis Knapp never could have used Twitter. The 140-character limit would have driven the poor man crazy.

But unlike many Twitter users, Knapp never hid behind a wall of anonymity.

Lewis Knapp was a 19th century curmudgeon — an eccentric, outspoken anti-religious zealot.

Knapp was bold enough to put his tirades on stone, iron and bronze monuments and place them where the public couldn’t help but read them.

He had settled in Southport (as Kenosha was known before 1850) and left to seek his fortune at the age of 34 in the 1849 California Gold Rush.

He came back the following year and married Susan Perrigo Foster. They lived on North Water Street (Fifth Avenue) across the street from the back of the firehouse alongside Orange Street (48th Street).

Lewis was a tailor employed by his brother Daniel, who owned a clothing store downtown.

One of his first musings still exists today in Green Ridge Cemetery, and it’s tame compared to the later ones. Lewis wrote it when he was 56 years old.