Coquille River, Oregon

Alki Point Lighthouse, Washington
It seems fitting that early northwestern settlers dubbed this area Point Alki, a Chinook word meaning “by-and-by” or “all in good time.” It may have been overlooked by commerce, but more than 150 years ago, landowners realized the Point was a vital day mark for mariners and a landmark for ships entering Elliott Bay from Puget Sound, bound for Seattle.

In 1887, the US Lighthouse Service established this beacon and it was first lit in 1913. The first light keeper, Hans Martin Hanson, was paid $15 a month for his services. After his death in 1900, the responsibility for the beacon passed to Hanson’s son Edmund.

Although the Lighthouse Board decided to construct a fog signal at the site, several years passed before Hanson’s heirs agreed to sell the parcel. In 1910, the government acquired 1.5 acres for $9,000 and two years later, a small, square stucco building with a brick tower was constructed at the end of Alki Point. The keeper’s cottage was built nearby and the new station began operating in 1913. Inside the 37-foot tower was a Fourth Order Fresnel Lens.

The light was automated in 1984 and a more modern optic was installed in 1998. Because the US Coast Guard continues to operate Alki Point as an important navigational aid, the old building is not regularly open to the public, though there are scheduled tours. The keeper’s quarters are now home to active Coast Guard families.

Alki Point beach is popular for scuba divers, especially because of the deep slopes out in front of the lighthouse. However, currents are swift, which is not surprising, given the convergence of busy Elliott Bay with Puget Sound. The little lighthouse remains an important marker for divers and mariners alike.

Point Reyes, California
Along the Northern Coast of California there are numerous natural rock formations called "points". Very few are more picturesque or more treacherous in its location than Point Reyes, which is considered to be one of the foggiest spots on the West Coast.

The Point Reyes area was chosen for its use as a vital navigational tool in 1852. At that time, Congress appropriated $25,000 to build the Point Reyes Lighthouse. Acquisition of the property and its precarious site delayed construction for many years. Finally, on December 1, 1870 the beacon became operational. During the delay, seven ships ran aground, again illustrating the immense need for a lighthouse in the area!

The First Order Fresnel Lens, with more than 1,000 hand-cut prisms and bull’s eyes, stands close to eight-feet high and over six-feet wide. The fueling and cleaning of the great lens was a full-time job in foggy weather, and attendants were exhausted by the demands. Records reveal, "Point Reyes Lighthouse is plagued by incidents of insanity, alcoholism, violence and insubordination." One keeper even took to drinking the alcohol shipped for cleaning the lens and" was often seen lying drunk by the roadside.

The US Coast Guard took over operation of the lighthouse from the Government Lighthouse Service in 1915. In 1967, following the fatal accident of a visitor, lighthouse tours were suspended. Automatic equipment was put into operation in 1977 at a nearby location, and the light was turned off. The lighthouse was then turned over to the Park Service.

Following a public effort to restore the light, the Park Service relit the original Fresnel Lens and has kept it operational, in case "its unromantic counterpart should ever break down." Tours were also resumed.

The tiny Point Reyes Peninsula is now part of the Point Reyes National Seashore and Park Service rangers are always present to answer questions. There are more than 300 stairs between the observation platform at the lighthouse station and the actual lighthouse below. Walking back up again is equivalent to walking up the stairs of a 30-story building! For more information on tour schedules please contact the Lighthouse Visitors Center at 415-669-1534.

 Stratford Point, Connecticut
Few settings conjure up such beauty as Christmas in Connecticut. The mind’s eye envisions sleigh rides, ice-skating, snow-covered landscapes and icy shores. For lighthouse enthusiasts, the scene includes a light station – bountiful on the coastline of Long Island Sound.

For years before there was a lighthouse at the dangerous mouth of the Housatonic River, bonfires and a fire in an iron basket comprised aids to navigation for mariners. The light station was established at Stratford Point and a wood shingle tower was built in 1822 at a cost of $4,000. Its beacon was a revolving cycle of ten lamps and reflectors on two tables, each holding five lamps.

By 1867, the old structure and keeper’s house were in disrepair, and in 1881, the present 35-foot cast iron tower and eight-room Gothic Revival house were built.

The new tower was one of the earliest prefabricated cylindrical cast-iron lighthouses in the country. It was outfitted with a Third Order Fresnel Lens with a flashing white light. The point was often pummeled by severe storms. A February storm caused the keeper to ring the bell for 104 hours, take a brief rest, and then ring it for another 103 hours.

Shortly after the new tower was erected, keeper Benedict Lillington and his son, Frederick, who served as assistant, had to leave to go to the aid of a vessel in distress. The keeper’s 12-year-old granddaughter, Lottie, was left alone and noticed that the light had gone out. She climbed to the lantern room by herself and lit a backup safety lamp, suspending it in place of the primary lamps. The captain of the steamer Elm City reported seeing the dim light as he passed the lighthouse.

In 1906, the Third Order Lens was replaced with a Fourth Order Fresnel Lens. The tower took on the look of a “headless” lighthouse when the lantern was removed in 1969 to make room for the new automated DCB-224 aero beacons. For a time, these powerful lumens made Stratford Light the brightest on Long Island Sound. The old Lens was donated to the Stratford Historical Society and displayed for 21 years.

In 1990, a smaller optic was installed and the Fourth Order Fresnel Lens refurbished and reinstalled at a cost of about $80,000. A dedication ceremony was held on July 14, 1990. A Coast Guard family now lives at the lighthouse, carefully maintaining this stately sentinel.

Today, when winter snows cover the shoreline and Christmastime is near, Stratford Point Light resembles a Currier & Ives painting of the perfect New England holiday scene.