The Cape Disappointment Light is a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

on Cape Disappointment near the mouth of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

History

In 1848, a lighthouse was recommended to be located at Cape Disappointment in what was then the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Ori ...

. An appropriation of $53,000 was made in 1852. After the lighthouse was designed, a first-order

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...

was ordered. When the lens arrived it was found to be too large for the tower. Rebuilding the tower took an additional two years. The first lighthouse in the Pacific Northwest was finally lit on October 15, 1856. In addition to the light, the station was equipped with a bell powered by a striking mechanism. The keeper's residence was about a quarter-mile away. The lighthouse had several shortcomings. The

fog bell A fog bell is a navigation mark used as an audible aid to navigation in seafaring, especially in fog and poor visibility. Floating navigation signs with bells are called bell buoys. On ships, the ship's bell is used for sound signals. Due to more s ...

was sometimes inaudible due to the roar of ocean waves. It was discontinued in 1881 and moved to

West Point Light The West Point Light, also known as the Discovery Park Lighthouse, is an active aid to navigation on Seattle, Washington's West Point, which juts into Puget Sound and marks the northern extent of Elliott Bay. The lighthouse is similar in design to ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, and eventually to

Warrior Rock Light Warrior Rock Light is a lighthouse on Sauvie Island in the U.S. state of Oregon, which helps guide river traffic on the Columbia River around the Portland, Oregon area. It once contained the Pacific Northwest's oldest fog bell. It is Oregon's ...

near

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. Also, the light was not visible to ships approaching from the north. This problem was corrected by building a lighthouse at North Head, two miles from Cape Disappointment. The first-order lens was moved to North Head and a fourth-order lens installed at Cape Disappointment. The lighthouse was electrified in 1937. In 1956, the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

intended to close the station, but retained the light when the

bar pilots protested. The light was automated in 1973. An observation deck has been built for the Coast Guard to monitor traffic and bar conditions. The grounds are open to the public through

Cape Disappointment State Park Cape Disappointment State Park (formerly Fort Canby State Park) is a public recreation area on Cape Disappointment, located southwest of Ilwaco, Washington, on the bottom end of Long Beach Peninsula, the northern headlands where the Columbia ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1856 Lighthouses in Washington (state) Transportation buildings and structures in Pacific County, Washington

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links