The Turn Point Light Station is an active aid to

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

overlooking

Haro Strait , image = Southern Gulf Islands, BC, Canada - panoramio.jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = View of Haro Strait from South Pender Island , image_bathymetry = Locmap-Haro-Boundary ad ...

from the western tip of Stuart Island, San Juan County,

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 ...

, in the northwest 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 territori ...

. The light marks a sharp turn in the shipping lanes at the transition between

and

Boundary Pass , image = Monarch Head (7604530136).jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = View of Boundary Pass from Monarch Head, Saturna Island , image_bathymetry = Locmap-Haro-Boundary additional l ...

History

Operations at Turn Point commenced in 1893 with the construction of a fog signal building, a two-story keeper's quarters, and a barn. The structures were designed by U.S. Lighthouse Board architect Carl W. Leick. The station's first light was a lens lantern displayed from a post located close to the point. A Daboll trumpet served as the fog signal. As originally configured, the Daboll trumpet was powered by compressed air furnished by air-pumps driven by two Rider hot-air engines (a form of Stirling cycle engine). This machinery, and a supply of coal to fuel the engines, was located in the fog signal building. The hot air engines were found to be underpowered. In 1900 they were replaced with internal combustion engines. In 1913, an oil storage building was constructed to house a supply of fuel for the fog signal engines. The light was electrified in 1925. Electricity for the navigation light and also for the lightkeeper's house was furnished by generators installed in the fog-signal building, in the room previously used to store coal for the old hot-air engines. In 1936, a square concrete tower was added to the site with a light emanating at a focal plane. A diaphragm foghorn replaced the Daboll trumpet. The station was automated in 1974. The fog signal was removed in approximately 2010. The light is still in service. The station is owned by the

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

and managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. It is part of the

San Juan Islands National Monument San Juan Islands National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in the Salish Sea in the state of Washington. The monument protects archaeological sites of the Coast Salish peoples, lighthouses and relics of early European American sett ...

, which was created in 2013. Volunteers through the Turn Point Lighthouse Preservation Society offer seasonal docent guided tours of the original 1893 Keepers House. The fog signal building houses a small museum presenting the history of the light station. Information about the orca whales who frequent the waters off Turn Point is displayed the oil storage building.

References

External links

Turn Point, San Juan Islands National Monument
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
Turn Point Lighthouse Preservation SocietyTurn Point Lighthouse, Washington Trust for Historic Preservation
Lighthouses completed in 1893 Lighthouses completed in 1936 Lighthouses in Washington (state) Transportation buildings and structures in San Juan County, Washington {{DEFAULTSORT:Turn_Point_Light_Station