|
«
 |
»
|
Lighthouse.......
2008.03.27
"Situated at Yaquina, is an old deserted lighthouse. Its weather-beaten walls are wrapped in mystery. On an afternoon when the fog comes drifting in, it is the loneliest place in the world."
|
The Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, a charming two-story clapboard structure, is located on a hill overlooking the northern side of the entrance to Yaquina Bay. It was deserted a mere three years after its light was first lit in 1871, and ever since has been the scene for many a ghostly tale.
|
The Enterance to the Lighthouse
|
Up the Stairs to the Light
|
Where the Light Beacon is Located
|
The lighthouse was quickly built - the tower and dwelling by Ben Simpson of Newport, Oregon, the lantern room by Joseph Bien of San Francisco. Its beacon, produced by a whale oil lamp within a fifth-order Fresnel lens, shown for the first time on November 3, 1871.
|
Looking West
|
This was one of the Beds that the family slept in, its called a rope bed, had to be tightend every night and hat a thin featherbed sheet over the ropes
|
Backdown the stairs
|
The only form of entertainment
|
The stove for cooking
|
The Front of Stove
|
In 1974, the old deserted lighthouse was restored under the Historical Preservation Program and later accepted on the National Register of Historic Places. The Lincoln County Historical Society conferred the lighthouse to the Oregon State Parks Department.
On December 7, 1996, the light was re-lit, using a 250mm modern optic on loan from lighthouse historian James Gibbs. The light is an official U.S. Coast Guard privately maintained aid to navigation displaying a fixed white light visible for six miles. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The story of the lighthouse began in 1871 when Yaquina Bay was a bustling port, the most populated along the West Coast between San Francisco and the Puget Sound. The Lighthouse Board determined there was a need for a lighthouse to guide traffic into the bay and in April 1871, 36 acres were purchased at the north entrance of the bay from Lester and Sophrina Baldwin, original homesteaders, for $500 in gold.
Charles H. Peirce, a former Civil War captain in the Union army, brought his wife and six children with him when he started to serve as headkeeper at Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. The Peirce's ninth child, Kate, was born on March 25, 1872, during the couples first year at the lighthouse.
With increased maritime traffic along the Oregon Coast, the Lighthouse Board decided the area would be better served with a coastal light at Yaquina Head, just four miles to the north. The completion of Yaquina Head Light in 1873 eliminated the need for the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. On October 1, 1874, Captain Pierce extinguished the light, returning with his family to Cape Blanco. The fifth-order Fresnel lens was transferred to the Yerba Buena Lightstation in San Francisco Bay, where it was lit in 1875.
The house remained empty for fourteen years and fell into disrepair. Repairs were made when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers used it for crew housing from 1888 to 1896, during the construction of the north jetty. Ten years later, in 1906, the U.S. Lifesaving Service quartered a crew in the house and constructed a lookout station nearby. It was used for this purpose by the U.S. Lifesaving Service and then the U.S. Coast Guard until 1933 when it was again abandoned.
With the house deserted and in disrepair ghost stories abounded. Talk circulated of razing the structure and by 1946 it was scheduled for demolition. In 1948, the Lincoln County Historical Society was formed with the purpose of saving the lighthouse. For three years they worked to raise the money necessary to preserve the structure but to no avail. By 1951 preparations were again made to demolish it, until L.E. Warford, an Ohio industrialist raised in Oregon, joined the preservation campaign and spearheaded a movement to get national recognition for the structure. By 1955, plans for demolition were abandoned, and in 1956, the lighthouse was dedicated as a historical site under the jurisdiction of the Lincoln County Historical Society. For the next eighteen years it served as a county museum.
The story of the lighthouse began in 1871 when Yaquina Bay was a bustling port, the most populated along the West Coast between San Francisco and the Puget Sound. The Lighthouse Board determined there was a need for a lighthouse to guide traffic into the bay and in April 1871, 36 acres were purchased at the north entrance of the bay from Lester and Sophrina Baldwin, original homesteaders, for $500 in gold.
Charles H. Peirce, a former Civil War captain in the Union army, brought his wife and six children with him when he started to serve as headkeeper at Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. The Peirce's ninth child, Kate, was born on March 25, 1872, during the couples first year at the lighthouse.
With increased maritime traffic along the Oregon Coast, the Lighthouse Board decided the area would be better served with a coastal light at Yaquina Head, just four miles to the north. The completion of Yaquina Head Light in 1873 eliminated the need for the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. On October 1, 1874, Captain Pierce extinguished the light, returning with his family to Cape Blanco. The fifth-order Fresnel lens was transferred to the Yerba Buena Lightstation in San Francisco Bay, where it was lit in 1875.
The house remained empty for fourteen years and fell into disrepair. Repairs were made when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers used it for crew housing from 1888 to 1896, during the construction of the north jetty. Ten years later, in 1906, the U.S. Lifesaving Service quartered a crew in the house and constructed a lookout station nearby. It was used for this purpose by the U.S. Lifesaving Service and then the U.S. Coast Guard until 1933 when it was again abandoned.
With the house deserted and in disrepair ghost stories abounded. Talk circulated of razing the structure and by 1946 it was scheduled for demolition. In 1948, the Lincoln County Historical Society was formed with the purpose of saving the lighthouse. For three years they worked to raise the money necessary to preserve the structure but to no avail. By 1951 preparations were again made to demolish it, until L.E. Warford, an Ohio industrialist raised in Oregon, joined the preservation campaign and spearheaded a movement to get national recognition for the structure. By 1955, plans for demolition were abandoned, and in 1956, the lighthouse was dedicated as a historical site under the jurisdiction of the Lincoln County Historical Society. For the next eighteen years it served as a county museum.
17
Comments
 |
OHHHHHHHHHHHH how much I like these pics and the history the pics sublime, I will like to live there,
Mertxe · 2008-03-27: 04:31
|
 |
fabulous!!!.......what a history lesson you have given us. Thank goodnes it never got to demolition..what a shame that would have been. youve got some beautiful shots here..really li them all actually. Thanks for the tour :)
focussed · 2008-03-27: 06:10
|
 |
What a great set of pics and history. I liked the bed and stove pictures. I can't imagine heating an iron and ironing like that. I was surprised to see a waffle iron too. I get a sense of every day living from those photos. The foot pedals on that piano/organ? are beautiful. Having that as the only form of entertainment wouldn't be such a bad thing. (I like ghost stories too).
oldbabe · 2008-03-27: 07:05
|
|
|
Very peaceful set. Beautiful. I enjoyed the ride.
vitzeq · 2008-03-27: 07:09
|
 |
Great post - love the splash of blue in #4 :-)
jet28 · 2008-03-27: 07:52
|
 |
Très très beau ! Il faut sauver les Phares, en France nous avons le même problème !
maudlaurens · 2008-03-27: 08:48
|
 |
WOW fantastic!! Really like #7 saved it in my favs!! looks like a great trip so far!! Awesome B&W shots too!!
SheriJ · 2008-03-27: 09:32
|
 |
This is one of the best post that I have ever seen! Beautiful pictures and a great history lesson. Thanks for shaing it.
tbranscum · 2008-03-27: 10:40
|
|
|
amazing fantastic and very powerful
PaulGraham · 2008-03-27: 12:55
|
 |
great history in both written and pictorial, lovely.
fionarobinson · 2008-03-27: 14:11
|
|
|
Great post!
marikos · 2008-03-27: 14:40
|
 |
Fantastic photo reportage. Everything in the house and of course the house itself is a treasure.
leocheung · 2008-03-27: 19:50
|
|
|
nice set, nice framed!
easylife · 2008-03-27: 20:29
|
|
|
What a wonderful set of a beautiful place!
mlcwikla · 2008-03-27: 23:10
|
 |
Nice history. Beautifully photographed.
rolpa · 2008-03-29: 07:13
|
 |
Great set! I really like 5!
Nayah · 2008-03-29: 15:59
|
 |
beautiful set. it's really cool that you take black and white photos. they are so "clean" photos :) and the lighthouse is very interesting too. i just saw lighthouses from films :) :$ oh and on the 5th photo i really like the blue colour in the b&w :)
Hollydead · 2008-03-31: 13:40
|
|
«
|
»
|
© 2013