Point Adams Light was 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 ...

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 ...

on the

Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Columbia ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The lighthouse was designed by

Paul J. Pelz Paul Johannes Pelz (18 November 1841 – 30 March 1918) was a German-American architect, best known as the main architect of the Library of Congress in Washington DC. Life and career Paul J. Pelz was born November 18, 1841, in Seitendorf (now ...

, who also designed Point Adams's sister stations,

Point Fermin Light Point Fermin Light is a lighthouse on Point Fermin in San Pedro, California. History The lighthouse was built in 1874 with lumber from California redwoods. It was designed by Paul J. Pelz who also designed Point Fermin's sister stations, East ...

in San Pedro, California,

East Brother Island Light East Brother Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on East Brother Island in San Rafael Bay, near the tip of Point San Pablo in Richmond, California. It marks the entrance to San Pablo Bay from San Francisco Bay. Built in 1874 and aut ...

in Richmond, California, Mare Island Light, in Carquinez Strait, California (demolished in the 1930s),

Point Hueneme Light Point Hueneme Lighthouse is a lighthouse on the southeast entrance to the Santa Barbara Channel, in Ventura County, CaliforniaUSCG.html" ;"title="Paul J. Pelz, USCG">Paul J. Pelz, USCG photo Point Hueneme Light is a , buff-colored 1940 Art Deco ...

in California (replaced in 1940), and

Hereford Inlet Light The Hereford Inlet Light is a historic lighthouse located in North Wildwood in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, situated on the southwestern shore of Hereford Inlet at the north end of Five Mile Beach. Its construction was completed ...

in North Wildwood, New Jersey, all in essentially the same style. It operated from February 15, 1875 until 1899, when it became obsolete by the extension of the south

jetty A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...

and the establishment of the Lightship ''Columbia'' in 1892. The lighthouse was considered a fire hazard and demolished in 1912. It was located about a mile south of

Point Adams Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Scotland, Lismore, Inner Hebrides, ...

—named by Captain Robert Gray in 179

��near what is now Battery Russell in

Fort Stevens State Park Fort Stevens was an American military installation that guarded the mouth of the Columbia River in the state of Oregon. Built near the end of the American Civil War, it was named for a slain Civil War general and former Washington Territory gover ...

. The combination of the Point Adams Light with the

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse The Cape Disappointment Light is a lighthouse on Cape Disappointment near the mouth of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. History In 1848, a lighthouse was recommended to be located at Cape Disappointment in what was then t ...

on the north side of the river effectively framed the entrance to the Columbia. The keeper's quarters and light were a combined structure, similar to the

Yaquina Bay Light The Yaquina Bay Light is a lighthouse that was built in 1871, soon after the founding of the city of Newport, Oregon, in the United States. It is located on the north side of Yaquina Bay. In 1871–1874, it was the busiest and most populated ...

, in Newport, and used the same structure, materials, and optics as

south of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The light was changed from alternating red and white to fixed red on January 21, 1881 to reduce confusion with the nearby just-completed

Tillamook Rock Light Tillamook Rock Light (known locally as Terrible Tilly or just Tilly) is a deactivated lighthouse on the northern Oregon Coast of the United States. It is located approximately offshore from Tillamook Head, and south of the mouth of the Columb ...

. The change caused HMS ''Fern Glen'' to run aground, evidently unaware of the change. At the same time, the fog signal was removed: it had long been criticized by mariners as being inaudible over waves crashing on shore. The keeper considered the biggest maintenance problem to be the prevention of sand accumulation at the base of the lighthouse. Fences were unsuccessfully attempted at one point. After decommissioning, the light was replaced by the Desdemona Sands Light in December 1901. It was finally burned down by the Lighthouse Service in 1912.

References

{{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1875 Lighthouses in Oregon Oregon Coast 1912 fires in the United States Transportation buildings and structures in Clatsop County, Oregon Buildings and structures demolished in 1912

See also

References