Tillamook Rock Light
Encyclopedia
Tillamook Rock Light is a deactivated lighthouse
on the Oregon Coast
of the United States
. It is located approximately 1.2 miles (1.9 km) offshore from Tillamook Head
, and 20 miles (32.2 km) south of the Columbia River
, situated on less than acre of basalt
rock in the Pacific Ocean
. The construction of the lighthouse was commissioned in 1878 by the United States Congress
, and began in 1880. The construction took more than 500 days to finish, with its completion in January 1881. In early January 1881, when the lighthouse was near completion, the barque
Lupatia was wrecked near the rock during inclement weather and sank, killing all 16 crew members.
The Light was officially lit on January 21, 1881. At the time, it was the most expensive West Coast
lighthouse ever built. Due to the erratic weather conditions, and the dangerous commute for both keepers and suppliers, the lighthouse was nicknamed "Terrible Tilly". Over the years, storms have damaged the lighthouse, shattered the lens, and has eroded the rock. It was decommissioned in 1957, and has since been sold privately. It is now an unofficial columbarium
, and is privately owned. The light is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
, and is part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge
. It is visible from the coastal cities of Seaside
, Cannon Beach
, as well as from Ecola State Park.
appropriated $50,000 for a lighthouse to be built on Tillamook Head
; however, after a survey was conducted, it was determined that due to the height of the Head (1000 feet), the light would be obstructed by fog, and the Tillamook rock was selected as the alternative site for the construction. A survey of rock was ordered in 1879, which was headed by H. S. Wheeler and his cutter Thomas Corwin
. Wheeler's initial assessment determined that access to the rock was severely limited, if not impossible, but was ordered to continue. During his second assessment, he was able to land on the rock, but was unable to move his survey equipment without the use of a tape line. He then relayed that the rock would need considerable blasting to created a level area in order lay down a foundation for the lighthouse, and that more money was going to be needed to complete the project.
In September 1879, a third survey was ordered, this time headed by John Trewavas, whose experience included the Wolf Rock lighthouse
in England
. Trewavas, unfortunately, was overtaken by large swells and was swept into the sea while attempting a landing, and his body was never recovered. His replacement, Charles A. Ballantyne, had a difficult assignment of recruiting workers due to the negative public reaction to Trewavas' death, and their desire to end the project. Ballantyne was able to secure a group of quarrymen who knew nothing of the tragedy, and was able to resume work on the rock. Transportation to and from the rock involved the use of a derrick
line attached with a breeches buoy
, and in May 1880, they were able to completely blast the top of the rock to allow the construction of the lighthouse's foundation.
The structure of lighthouse included an attached keeper's quarters and a 62 feet (18.9 m) tower that originally housed a first-order Fresnel lens
, with an incandescent oil vapor lamp, 133 feet (40.5 m) above sea level. The light had a visibility range of 18 miles (29 km), and was fixed with a steam foghorn
. It is located on less than an acre of basalt
in the Pacific Ocean
, 20 miles (32.2 km) south of the Columbia River
, approximately 1.2 miles (1.9 km) off Tillamook Head, and is the northern-most lighthouse along the Oregon coast. The construction lasted more than 500 days by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the leadership of George Lewis Gillespie, Jr.
. The cost of $125,000, at the time, was the most expensive West Coast lighthouse ever built, later surpassed by the St. George Reef Light off the northern California
coast.
Lupatia was sailing in thick fog and high winds when the ship's Captain noticed that they were too close to shore. Wheeler, the official in charge of the lighthouse's construction, heard the voices of the panicked crew and immediately ordered his men to place lanterns in the tower, and light a bonfire to signal the ship that they were approximately 600 feet from the rock. The ship appeared to have been able to turn itself toward returning to sea, however quickly disappeared into the fog, and Wheeler was not able to hear the crew. The next day, the bodies of all 16 crew members were found washed up on shore of Tillamook Head. The only survivor of the wreck was the crew's dog.
On October 21, 1934, the original lens was destroyed by a large storm, that also leveled parts of the tower railing and greatly damaged the landing platform. Winds had reached 109 miles per hour, launching boulders and debris into the tower, damaging the lantern room and destroying the lens. The derrick and phone lines were destroyed as well. After the storm subsided, communication with the lighthouse was severed until keeper Henry Jenkins built a makeshift radio from the damaged foghorn and telephone to alert officials. Diesel engines were installed to provide electricity for the light and station. Repairs to the lighthouse cost $12,000 and was not fully completed until February 1935. The Fresnel lens was replaced by an aerobeacon, and a metal mesh placed around the lantern room to protect the tower from large boulders.
, having become the most expensive U.S. lighthouse to operate. The last keeper, Oswald Allik, later the last head keeper of Heceta Head Light
. Within two years, the lighthouse was sold to group of investors from Nevada
, who sold it in 1980 to a group of Realtors, who created the Eternity at Sea Columbarium, which opening in June of the year. After interring about 30 urn
s, the columbarium
's license was revoked in 1999 by the Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board and was rejected upon reapplication in 2005.
Access to the site is severely limited, with a helicopter landing the only way to access the rock, and it is off-limits even to the owners during the seabird nesting season. The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1981 and is part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge
.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
on the Oregon Coast
Oregon Coast
The Oregon Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It runs generally north-south along the Pacific Ocean, forming the western border of the state; the region is bounded to the east by the Oregon Coast Range. The Oregon Coast stretches approximately from the Columbia River in the north to...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located approximately 1.2 miles (1.9 km) offshore from Tillamook Head
Tillamook Head
Tillamook Head is a high promontory on the Pacific coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. It is located in west-central Clatsop County, approximately 5 mi southwest of Seaside. The promontory forms a steep rocky bluff on the ocean, approximately 1,200 ft high, forested with...
, and 20 miles (32.2 km) south of the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
, situated on less than acre of basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
rock in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. The construction of the lighthouse was commissioned in 1878 by the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, and began in 1880. The construction took more than 500 days to finish, with its completion in January 1881. In early January 1881, when the lighthouse was near completion, the barque
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
Lupatia was wrecked near the rock during inclement weather and sank, killing all 16 crew members.
The Light was officially lit on January 21, 1881. At the time, it was the most expensive West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
lighthouse ever built. Due to the erratic weather conditions, and the dangerous commute for both keepers and suppliers, the lighthouse was nicknamed "Terrible Tilly". Over the years, storms have damaged the lighthouse, shattered the lens, and has eroded the rock. It was decommissioned in 1957, and has since been sold privately. It is now an unofficial columbarium
Columbarium
A columbarium is a place for the respectful and usually public storage of cinerary urns . The term comes from the Latin columba and originally referred to compartmentalized housing for doves and pigeons .The Columbarium of Pomponius Hylas is a particularly fine ancient Roman example, rich in...
, and is privately owned. The light is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, and is part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge
Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge
Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge is a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge off the southwestern Oregon Coast. It is one of six National Wildlife Refuges comprising the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex...
. It is visible from the coastal cities of Seaside
Seaside, Oregon
Seaside is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. The name Seaside is derived from Seaside House, a historic summer resort built in the 1870s by railroad magnate Ben Holladay. The city's population was 6,457 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, Cannon Beach
Cannon Beach, Oregon
Cannon Beach is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,588 as of the 2000 census. The 2007 estimate is 1,680 residents.- History :...
, as well as from Ecola State Park.
Construction
In 1878, the United States CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
appropriated $50,000 for a lighthouse to be built on Tillamook Head
Tillamook Head
Tillamook Head is a high promontory on the Pacific coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. It is located in west-central Clatsop County, approximately 5 mi southwest of Seaside. The promontory forms a steep rocky bluff on the ocean, approximately 1,200 ft high, forested with...
; however, after a survey was conducted, it was determined that due to the height of the Head (1000 feet), the light would be obstructed by fog, and the Tillamook rock was selected as the alternative site for the construction. A survey of rock was ordered in 1879, which was headed by H. S. Wheeler and his cutter Thomas Corwin
USRC Thomas Corwin (1876)
The Thomas Corwin was a United States Revenue Cutter and subsequently a merchant vessel. These two very different roles both centered on Alaska and the Bering Sea...
. Wheeler's initial assessment determined that access to the rock was severely limited, if not impossible, but was ordered to continue. During his second assessment, he was able to land on the rock, but was unable to move his survey equipment without the use of a tape line. He then relayed that the rock would need considerable blasting to created a level area in order lay down a foundation for the lighthouse, and that more money was going to be needed to complete the project.
In September 1879, a third survey was ordered, this time headed by John Trewavas, whose experience included the Wolf Rock lighthouse
Wolf Rock, Cornwall
Wolf Rock is a treacherous rock located east of St Mary's, Isles of Scilly and southwest of Land's End, in Cornwall, United Kingdom. A lighthouse, known as the Wolf Rock Lighthouse, was built on the rock by James Walker from 1861 to 1869; it entered service in January 1870.The lighthouse is in...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Trewavas, unfortunately, was overtaken by large swells and was swept into the sea while attempting a landing, and his body was never recovered. His replacement, Charles A. Ballantyne, had a difficult assignment of recruiting workers due to the negative public reaction to Trewavas' death, and their desire to end the project. Ballantyne was able to secure a group of quarrymen who knew nothing of the tragedy, and was able to resume work on the rock. Transportation to and from the rock involved the use of a derrick
Derrick
A derrick is a lifting device composed of one tower, or guyed mast such as a pole which is hinged freely at the bottom. It is controlled by lines powered by some means such as man-hauling or motors, so that the pole can move in all four directions. A line runs up it and over its top with a hook on...
line attached with a breeches buoy
Breeches buoy
A breeches buoy is a crude rope-based rescue device used to extract people from wrecked vessels, or to transfer people from one location to another in situations of danger. The device resembles a round emergency personal flotation device with a leg harness attached...
, and in May 1880, they were able to completely blast the top of the rock to allow the construction of the lighthouse's foundation.
The structure of lighthouse included an attached keeper's quarters and a 62 feet (18.9 m) tower that originally housed a first-order Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
, with an incandescent oil vapor lamp, 133 feet (40.5 m) above sea level. The light had a visibility range of 18 miles (29 km), and was fixed with a steam foghorn
Foghorn
A foghorn or fog signal or fog bell is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of hazards or boats of the presence of other vehicles in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport...
. It is located on less than an acre of basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, 20 miles (32.2 km) south of the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
, approximately 1.2 miles (1.9 km) off Tillamook Head, and is the northern-most lighthouse along the Oregon coast. The construction lasted more than 500 days by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the leadership of George Lewis Gillespie, Jr.
George Lewis Gillespie, Jr.
George Gillespie, Jr., was an American soldier who received the highest military decoration that the United States bestows to members of the military, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the American Civil War....
. The cost of $125,000, at the time, was the most expensive West Coast lighthouse ever built, later surpassed by the St. George Reef Light off the northern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
coast.
The wreck of the Lupatia
In early January of 1881, when the lighthouse was near completion, the barqueBarque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
Lupatia was sailing in thick fog and high winds when the ship's Captain noticed that they were too close to shore. Wheeler, the official in charge of the lighthouse's construction, heard the voices of the panicked crew and immediately ordered his men to place lanterns in the tower, and light a bonfire to signal the ship that they were approximately 600 feet from the rock. The ship appeared to have been able to turn itself toward returning to sea, however quickly disappeared into the fog, and Wheeler was not able to hear the crew. The next day, the bodies of all 16 crew members were found washed up on shore of Tillamook Head. The only survivor of the wreck was the crew's dog.
Operational era
The tower was first lit on January 21, 1881, and was assigned with four keepers. Duty at the Tillamook Light was considered difficult due to the isolation from civilization, and the severe weather conditions. The light was nicknamed "Terrible Tilly" (or Tillie), for the stormy conditions of its location. Throughout its history, the area was hit by large, violent storms that damaged the lighthouse with large waves, winds, and debris, and on several occasions, the tower was flooded, after the lantern room windows were broken by large debris. The lighthouse had four head keepers during its first two years and in 1897, a telephone line was installed, though a storm cut it shortly afterwards. During a storm in 1912, 100 tons of rock were reportedly shorn off the western end of the rock, and the windows were gradually cemented over, replaced by small portholes.On October 21, 1934, the original lens was destroyed by a large storm, that also leveled parts of the tower railing and greatly damaged the landing platform. Winds had reached 109 miles per hour, launching boulders and debris into the tower, damaging the lantern room and destroying the lens. The derrick and phone lines were destroyed as well. After the storm subsided, communication with the lighthouse was severed until keeper Henry Jenkins built a makeshift radio from the damaged foghorn and telephone to alert officials. Diesel engines were installed to provide electricity for the light and station. Repairs to the lighthouse cost $12,000 and was not fully completed until February 1935. The Fresnel lens was replaced by an aerobeacon, and a metal mesh placed around the lantern room to protect the tower from large boulders.
Post-operational era
The lighthouse was shut down in 1957 and replaced with a whistle buoyBuoy
A buoy is a floating device that can have many different purposes. It can be anchored or allowed to drift. The word, of Old French or Middle Dutch origin, is now most commonly in UK English, although some orthoepists have traditionally prescribed the pronunciation...
, having become the most expensive U.S. lighthouse to operate. The last keeper, Oswald Allik, later the last head keeper of Heceta Head Light
Heceta Head Light
Heceta Head Light is a lighthouse located on the Oregon Coast north of Florence, Oregon and south of Yachats, Oregon, United States. It is located at Heceta Head Lighthouse State Scenic Viewpoint midway up a 205-foot tall headland...
. Within two years, the lighthouse was sold to group of investors from Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, who sold it in 1980 to a group of Realtors, who created the Eternity at Sea Columbarium, which opening in June of the year. After interring about 30 urn
Urn
An urn is a vase, ordinarily covered, that usually has a narrowed neck above a footed pedestal. "Knife urns" placed on pedestals flanking a dining-room sideboard were an English innovation for high-style dining rooms of the late 1760s...
s, the columbarium
Columbarium
A columbarium is a place for the respectful and usually public storage of cinerary urns . The term comes from the Latin columba and originally referred to compartmentalized housing for doves and pigeons .The Columbarium of Pomponius Hylas is a particularly fine ancient Roman example, rich in...
's license was revoked in 1999 by the Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board and was rejected upon reapplication in 2005.
Access to the site is severely limited, with a helicopter landing the only way to access the rock, and it is off-limits even to the owners during the seabird nesting season. The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1981 and is part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge
Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge
Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge is a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge off the southwestern Oregon Coast. It is one of six National Wildlife Refuges comprising the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex...
.