Oregon Lighthouses

The U.S. state of Oregon is located on the Pacific coast north of California. Almost all of its coastline is steep and scenic, and the lighthouses are generally built on spectacular headlands. Protected harbors are very scarce. The most important harbor facilities are on the Columbia River, which forms the northern border of the state. In all, there are 12 lighthouses, two of them built privately. In addition, the lightship Columbia is preserved at Astoria.

The Oregon Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society supports all the state's lighthouses, and there are local preservation groups active at many of them.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from Volume G of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. USCG numbers are from volume 6 of the U.S. Coast Guard List of Lights.

General Sources
Oregon Lighthouses: From Kraig Anderson, excellent photos and historical accounts.
Lighthouses of Oregon: Excellent photos by "The Lighthouse People," Sandra and Bob Shanklin.
Lighthouses in Oregon, United States: Aerial photos posted by Marinas.com.
Coast Guard Lighthouses - Oregon: Historic photos with notes.
National Maritime Inventory - Oregon: National Park Service inventory of Oregon lighthouse data.
Lighthouse Getaway: Oregon Lighthouses: Excellent photos and brief descriptions from Bill Britten of the University of Tennessee.
Oregon Lighthouses: A tourist-oriented site posted by NWCoast.com.
Leuchttürme USA auf historischen Postkarten: Historic postcard images posted by Klaus Huelse.

Yaquina Head Light, November 2008
Creative Commons photo by Shankarr Kalyanaraaman

Columbia River Lighthouses
**** Lightship WLV 604 Columbia: 1950. Decommissioned 1979. 617-ton 2-masted steel lightship, length 128 ft (39.0 m), beam 30 ft (9.1 m). Vessels painted red, superstructure white, masts and stack buff. Granger Meador has a good photo, and Google has a satellite view. Most lightships serve several stations during their careers, but WLV 604 served its entire career on the Columbia station off the mouth of the Columbia River. One of the best preserved U.S. lightships, it is operational. The large (40 ft diameter) buoy that replaced the lightship from 1979 to 1993 is also on display, floating next to the ship. Moored at the Columbia River Maritime Museum on US 30 (Marine Drive) near 17th Street in downtown Astoria. Site and museum open daily, ship open to guided tours. Owner/site manager: Columbia River Maritime Museum. ARLHS USA-184.
Warrior Rock (2): 1930s (station established 1889). Active; focal plane 28 ft (9 m); white flash every 4 s. 25 ft (8 m) octagonal concrete tower mounted on the original square sandstone foundation. Entire structure painted white. The lighthouse was repaired in 1969 after being seriously damaged in a collison with a barge. Ruins of the original keeper's house (basement and chimney) are nearby, hidden by forest; the house burned sometime in the early 1990s. The historic fog bell (1855, previously used at Cape Disappointment and West Point, Washington) is on display at the Columbia County Courthouse in St. Helens. There is a half-size replica of the 1889 lighthouse behind the older courthouse, nearby. Jenn Sinclair has a 2007 closeup photo, Rudy and Alice Rico also have a web page for the lighthouse, Wikipedia has a page with a good photo, and Google has a satellite view. The city of St. Helens hoped to start water taxi service to the area of the lighthouse, with hiking trails and historical markers adjacent to the building, but none of this seems to have happened. Located on the northeastern tip of Sauvie Island, in the Columbia River south of St. Helens. The island is accessible by bridge from US 30 near Burlington; the lighthouse is accessible by a 3 mile (5 km) hike from the end of Reeder Road or by a short boat ride from the marina in St. Helens. Site open, tower closed. Site manager: U.S. Coast Guard. ARLHS USA-977; Admiralty G4687.4; USCG 6-11060.

Pacific Coast Lighthouses
Tillamook Rock: 1881 (George Ballantyne). Inactive since 1957. 62 ft (19 m) square cylindrical brick tower atop 1-story brick keeper's house. Lighthouse painted white, lantern and watch room black. Lighthouse Digest has a story on the history of the light station, Eric Person has a view from the sea, a view from the mainland is available, Huelse has a historic postcard view, and Google has a satellite view. In 1980 the lighthouse was purchased and gutted inside with the idea of making it a columbarium, a repository for the ashes of the deceased. However, access problems prevented the owners from carrying out this plan properly, and in 1999 the state of Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board canceled the group's license. In recent years the lighthouse has appeared to be abandoned. One of the most inaccessible of all U.S. lighthouses, located on a rock in tumultuous seas about 1 mile (1.5 km) off Tillamook Head and 6 miles (10 km) southwest of Seaside. Visible distantly from Ecola State Park north of Cannon Beach. Site and tower closed. Owner/site manager: Eternity at Sea Columbarium. ARLHS USA-849.

**** Yaquina Head: 1873. Active; focal plane 162 ft (49 m); two white flashes every 20 s, flashes separated by 2 s, day and night. 93 ft (28 m) brick tower attached to a 1-story brick oil house. The original Barbier & Fenestre 1st order Fresnel lens (1868) is still in use. Tower painted white, lantern black, lantern roof red. Sibling of Pigeon Point CA. The original principal keeper's house was demolished in 1938, but the assistant keeper's house, two more modern keeper's houses (1922 and 1938), oil house (1889), barn (1886), stable, and other light station buildings are preserved. Shankarr Kalyanaraaman's photo is at the top of this page, Britten has a fine photo, Anderson has photos and historical information, the Coast Guard has a historic photo, Huelse has a historic postcard view, and Google has a satellite view. This is a classic: one of the best known and most often visited lighthouses of the Pacific Northwest, and the tallest Oregon lighthouse. Yaquina Lights works for its restoration. In 2005, a $1 million appropriation from Congress funded a thorough restoration of the lens and lighthouse; Lighthouse Digest has a March 2006 article describing this project. The restoration was completed in June 2006. Site open, tower open daily (entry fee to area). Located at the end of Lighthouse Drive off US 101 in Agate Beach, 2 miles (3 km) north of Newport. Owner: U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Site manager: Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. ARLHS USA-907; Admiralty G4506; USCG 6-0650.
**** Yaquina Bay: 1871. Reactivated (inactive 1874-1996, now privately maintained); focal plane 165 ft (50 m); continuous white light. 51 ft (16 m) square cylindrical wood tower mounted on the roof of a 2-story wood keeper's house; 250 mm lens. Building painted white with red trim; lantern and gallery are painted bright red. Britten has a good photo, Anderson has a fine page with several good photos, the Coast Guard has a historic photo, Marinas.com has distant aerial photos, and Google has a satellite view. Though it served only briefly as a lighthouse, the building was a lifesaving station for many years. Friends of Yaquina Lighthouses worked for its restoration and reactivation. Believed to be the oldest building in Newport, the lighthouse is now a museum. Lighthouse painted in 2000. Lighthouse Digest has a November 2005 article on the history of the station. Located on the north side of the Yaquina Bay entrance in Newport, just off US 101; Site open, museum and tower open daily year round (free, donations requested). Group tours can be arranged and the lighthouse is a popular site for weddings. Owner: Oregon State Parks (Yaquina Bay State Recreation Area). Site manager: Yaquina Lights. ARLHS USA-906; USCG 6-9613.
Cleft of the Rock (Cape Perpetua): 1976. Active (privately maintained); focal plane 110 ft (33.5 m); flash every 10 s, alternating red and white. 35 ft (11 m) square pyramidal wood tower with lantern and gallery, attached to a 2-story A-frame residence. Lighthouse painted white with buff trim. G.E. Bauer has a photo, and Google has a satellite view. The lighthouse is a replica of the 1898 Fiddle Reef Light on Vancouver Island, Canada; the acrylic lens is from the Solander Island Light, off the west coast of Vancouver Island. The lighthouse was built by author Jim Gibbs (former keeper at Tillamook Reef Light) and was accepted by the Coast Guard as a privately maintained aid to navigation. It's remarkable that this prominent headland never had an official lighthouse. Located just off US 101 at Cape Perpetua (milepost 166), about 2 miles (3 km) south of Yachats. Site and tower closed (private residence), but there's a good view from the shoulder of US 101 nearby. Owner/site manager: private. ARLHS USA-964; Admiralty G4487; USCG 6-0640.
*** Umpqua River (2): 1894 (station established 1857, but inactive 1864-1894). Active; focal plane 165 ft (50 m); flashes every 5 s, two white flashes and then one red flash, day and night. 65 ft (20 m) stucco-clad brick tower attached to a workroom; the original F. Barbier 1st order Fresnel lens is still in use. Lighthouse painted white; lantern roof is red. The original keeper's house has been demolished, but the former Umpqua River Coast Guard Station now serves as the Coastal Visitor Center and lighthouse museum. This is Oregon's oldest light station. The lighthouse is a sibling of Heceta Head Light, but both these light towers are similar to the much earlier Cape Blanco Light. Britten has excellent photos showing the unusual red and clear prisms of the lens, Anderson has an excellent web page for the lighthouse, Marinas.com has aerial photos, Huelse has a historic postcard view, and Google has a satellite view. Public protests saved the lens when the revolving mechanism broke down in 1983. In 2005 the Jeld-Wen Company donated badly needed new doors and windows. In 2007, Senator Gordon Smith introduced legislation that would transfer ownership of the lighthouse to Douglas County; presently the county holds a lease on the station. The lighthouse was restored during an 18-month project in 2007-08 and reopened on May 1, 2008. The light station is adjacent to Umpqua Lighthouse State Park (camping available). Located off US 101 about 1 mile (1.5 km) south of Winchester Bay, on the south side of the river entrance. Site open (free), tower open daily May through September (small fee). Owner U.S. Coast Guard. Site manager: Douglas County Parks. ARLHS USA-866; Admiralty G4472; USCG 6-0620.
Cape Arago (Cape Gregory) (3): 1934 (station established 1866). Inactive since 2006. 44 ft (13.5 m) octagonal cylindrical concrete tower attached to a 1-story concrete fog signal building; solar-powered VRB-25 aerobeacon. Lighthouse painted white, lantern black; roofs of the building and the lantern are red. Sibling of Point Robinson WA. The original 4th order Fresnel lens is displayed at the North Bend Coast Guard Station. The FA 232 fog horn remains in use. NOAA C-MAN automatic weather station. A 2008 photo is available, Marinas.com has aerial photos, Huelse has a historic postcard view, and Google has a satellite view. This lighthouse replaced a 1908 building that remained in use as the keeper's house until it was demolished in 1957. The building was painted and repaired in 1998, but the light was deactivated on New Year's Day 2006. Local Native American tribes, which have been maintaining the lighthouse grounds, have expressed interest in working with other local groups to restore and reactivate the lighthouse. In 2008, Congress passed an act transferring the light station to a consortium of the tribes. Located on Chief's Island just off the coast about 3 miles (5 km) west of Charleston and 2 miles (3 km) north of the actual cape. Visible from an overlook on the Cape Arago highway west of Charleston. The shoreline opposite the lighthouse is accessible by a rugged foot trail from Sunset Bay State Park and from Cape Arago State Park (camping available), but the historic (1889) footbridge to the island is closed to the public. Site and tower closed. Owner/site manager: Confederated tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians. ARLHS USA-106; Admiralty G4450; USCG 6-0605.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Desdemona Sands (1902-1945), mouth of the Columbia River. ARLHS USA-982.
Point Adams (1875-1912), entrance to the Columbia River. ARLHS USA-983.
Willamette River (1895-ca. 1955), mouth of the Willamette River. Huelse has a postcard view. ARLHS USA-892.

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