Mile Rock

Location:
Located on the south side of the entrance to San Francisco Bay west of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Directions:
A Coastal Trail to a viewing area can be accessed via the parking lot at Lincoln Park at the end of El Camino Del Mar/48th Ave. (From Ocean Beach, follow Point Lobos Avenue north past the Cliff House and the Sutro Bath ruins. Turn left at the traffic lights on El Camino Del Mar/48th Ave. Heading down Point Lobos; make a right turn at the traffic lights on El Camino Del Mar/48th Ave.). Follow the road into the parking lot at Fort Miley/Lincoln Park.

Latitude: 37.79282
Longitude: -122.510375
Status: Active
Year established: 1906
Latitude: 37 deg 47 min 33 sec N
Longitude: 122 deg 30 min 34 sec W
Height above sea level: 49 feet
Tower Height:40 ft.
Original Optic: 3rd Order, Fresnel, ruby red
Original construction: white caisson with orange bands
Status: automated in 1966, active aid to navigation
Light characteristic: flashing white every 5 seconds, visible for 15 nautical miles, Fog horn: 1 blast every 30 seconds lasting 2 seconds

What is an adventure, if it does not have some sort of intrigue or fun? The intrigue can take many forms. Is the weather going to cooperate? How accessible is the location and what are the opportunities for interactions with the people and the environment. The fun often comes in solving these challenges that beset my journey from the onset to end. Often times I put myself in harms way, not intentionally, but in chasing the prize and to finish the journey so it’s not incomplete. My overall challenge is to take good pictures of all the lighthouses and locations in California. So far I have sat on dismal cliffs as far north as Crescent City, and climbed a volcanic 300 ft as far South as Point Sur. My ambition is to go down to San Diego and work my way up the coast. I have been on ferries and boats, stayed in dinghy motels, Drank wine on mountain tops, surfed the net in the wilderness, saw cows on the lurch on the side mountains above the clouds as if they where mountain goats, saw a medley of American flags in a trunk, in the midst of woods, watched big and small seals mate, met the most wonderful people and got drunk on nature, now that’s an adventure.

When I arrive at a lighthouse location, I am uncertain as what to expect, it could be totally demolished, vandalized, or might be inaccessible because the coast guard still has ownership, like Yerba Buena. I quickly scan the site looking for light, structures, uniqueness and whatever works for image capture. I stroll around the marina, harbors, parking lots, cliffs, beaches and at times climb the sides of Mountains. Some more challenges for the future is to learn scuba diving, horseback riding, take a ride in a helicopter, fishing boat, and kayak to get to some of these sites. The weather is another challenge, from blue skies to a dull overcast grayness. At times because of the grayness of the weather and or the conditions of the lighthouse grounds and structures, I have to improvise, and promise myself a return journey. At times I wish I had a video camera with me on these trips to try and capture the uniqueness of the moment, I am also trying new ways to present my images to the unsuspecting world. Maybe I might find a way of the old masters, such as Cezanne, Picasso,Seurat or even some Modern day artists for drawing inspiration.

It was around 10:30 I arrived at my Brother Eddie’s house. The day was dark and grey; I was hoping that it would burn off by afternoon. We decided that we would go and have breakfast somewhere near the Ocean Beach or Point Lobos Ave, and wait for the blanket of fog to burn off, we knew the weather in San Francisco is unpredictable, it can be foggy one minute and the next the sun can be shining from a nice blue sky. So it’s always a gamble even in the summer time to visit San Francisco. We dropped by Starbucks and picked up a few coffees and we where on our way. It was a quick run on highway 280, and turnoff towards the zoo, which brought us to the waterfront beach.

As we got closer to the Ocean Beach front, near the cliff house on Point Lobos avenue, the fog looked real menacing, it was dense and the waves on the shoreline came crashing with a load roar, that gave a hauntingly cold feeling, not at all welcoming, and it was already crossing our minds that maybe we should be heading south towards our other favorite haunts, Point Montara and Pigeon Point. Driving towards the cliff house we spotted Beach Chalet restaurant and decided we would drop in there for breakfast.

 Breakfast was not too bad, it would have been a lot better if they did not plaster garlic all over the potatoes. We both had the same items, eggs, sausage, wheat toast, potatoes, coffee and orange juice. Eddie wanted some pancakes but he was out of luck only served Mon – Fri. Also the atmosphere was a bit yuppie and pricey about $50 for both of us, Eddie paid. Beach Chalet is interesting place to visit, some large murals of the history of the area on the walls and some great models of golden gate park, certainly a place of interest for tourists to visit.
We continued to observe the dense fog and the waves pounding the beach as we leisurely ate our breakfast, the fog looked like it had settled for the day and was not about to budge. After breakfast we wandered around the beach chalet building, it is an interesting place, located just off the Ocean Beach; the downstairs of the building is filled with lots of pictures, stories and models of the History of the park with a large scale model showing the park’s layout. We had breakfast in the upstairs part of restaurant

My vehicle was parked on a nearby road, which was close to a giant windmill called Wilhelmina windmill park, In case the Mile Rock lighthouse trip was not going to work out, I would at least get some pictures of the windmill. We spent some time in the park before continuing our quest for mile rock; I helped my brother Eddie with the use of a DSLR. I lent him my Canon 40D with a 17-40mm lens. I watched the excitement as he used a semi professional camera. He moved around the park as if the Windmill was his model. Looking for variations and different perspectives; shooting windmills can be as exciting as shooting lighthouses; they bring you back to a world gone into the fading recesses of our minds. To try and salvage what is gone, becomes the job of the photographer, to move from pretty pictures to ones that encapsulates meaning. In my minds eye, I have to do is see the windmill working in its heyday as I would see a lighthouse. This is where my form of art lies. It’s developing the ability to open a persons mind to another world, precept, idea or vision.

Finding Lincoln Park was not too hard, it was just North of the Cliff house, that’s going uphill, there is a cross roads with a traffic light. It can be called 48th avenue or El Camino Del Mar. We went up the hill and turned left, into Fort Miley/Lincoln Park and parked in the parking lot. It’s free. We followed the path down towards the water, turned right and made our way towards the golden gate bridge. About a ¼ of a mile in on the trail, there is a good view spot with benches for looking out over the bay. When we arrived at Lincoln Park, the fog was still hanging over the bay and was quiet close to shore. Not too many people about, a few volunteers planting and tilling the hillside. And a few tourists trying to get a picture with the golden gate bridge in the background. The weather was on the chilly side, from a distance we could hear the fog horn blaring out its dire warnings in the background. With the dense fog and the sound of the Foghorn, you realized why they needed a station here at mile rock. It was also very surreal, it reminded me of a scene in the Humphrey Bogart movie Casa Blanca, Characters Louis and Rick walk into the fog.

Loaded with our cameras, we strolled along the coastal path, looking out into the fog laden waters for the lighthouse, at first we did not see the lighthouse, and then it appeared ever so dimly from behind the fog. It was like a giant striped mushroom appearing ever so dimly; almost eerily, combined with the foghorn and the Golden Gate bridge it was twilight shot. My attitude is to accept, what you are given, because in a moment everything could be gone. I snapped a few pictures. As we continued to stroll, the fog continued to retreat and a picturesque scene unfolded before our eyes, the bridge and its two towers protruded above the thick blanket of fog. The sun shone on the fog, and it appeared like a white giant cigar sitting under the bridge and the mountains on the other side of the bay basked in heavens light as they rose above the fog. It was as if the world was changing before our eyes, click, click, click. We got some pretty pictures. I could see Eddie was taking a serious interest in working with the Dslr camera. I had set the 40D on AV and this allowed him think only about the basics, strap around the neck, clean lens, and how to hold the camera. I kept the technical stuff to the minimum.

We meandered along the trail a bit further, maybe for a mile or two. Some incredibly steep climbs or steps, Eddie is just as nuts as I am when it comes to pushing our bodies. His back must have driven him crazy with the pain. My knee, even though I had a knee brace was singing aloud with pain. But of course that was not going to stop us from following this trail. The nature trail provided a number of places to take some wonderful shots and allowed me to teach Eddie about the trickery light plays with the camera. We came to area on the trail where I could see the Arch of the Golden gate bridge, just about where fort Point is located. I thought if I waited a few minutes the fog would pull back, so I could get a good shot of the bridge and Fort Point. But it was not to be. The constant blaring of the foghorn could be heard coming though the fog. It sounded almost eerily that there was danger in the fog. Even as I write this I still hear the mourning blare “BEEEEEEE-Ohhhh” of the foghorn in my ears. It’s like one of those Film noir movies, standing on the wharf, and far-off in the night, through the misty fog, the deep sound of a foghorn can be heard. It can be a romantic sound, if you’re a lover waiting ashore for your loved one come in on the ship, or a signal of danger cliffs or rocks ahead. On the water, it blares out “Here is danger!” and echoes. “Stay well clear.“. With no clearing of the fog, we decided it was time to turn back.

On our return trek, we met, a young couple where the young man was having breathing problems climbing the steps. An elderly group of English people from Manchester England sitting at one the state rest spots on the steps, we passed a few moments of joviality with this group and as the Sun was picking its way out from the clouds so where more and more people appearing on the trail. It was like a new day, Sun and Blue skies. We turned a bend in the road, near Mile Rock Beach and there was our lighthouse, without its main tower, yet it looked great, it was a orange stripped mushroom, the top had been leveled so that it was a helipad. The sun had finally won out over the fog. I could see right over to the other side of the bay. I could see Point Bonita and Point Diablo and at the Bridge Fort Point. This had the makings for a great day.
We finished our day shooting, noticed the young volunteers had finished taking care of the plants. Made our way to my SUV and then decided we would have a late lunch or an early dinner. It was around 4:30 pm, we dropped into a restaurant on the corner of 48th, Seal Rock Inn, my advice stay away. The food is cheap and so is everything else. Coffee tasted as if it was burned, the fries had no taste, as for the fish, it was not caught fresh from the bay. It looked as there was a mini convention for some old bikers going on as we ate. We enjoyed the remainder of the day, and took the long way home and enjoyed the scenery.
History:

1889 November, The fog bell at Fort Point, at times could not be heard at Mile Rocks a pair of stones about half a mile north of Point Lobos in San Francisco and a Mile south of the mid channel of the main shipping lanes coming into the Golden Gate Strait. Considered to be hazardous due to fog and strong currents, building on top of the rocks or dynamiting them was not considered practical. The Lighthouse Service Board Placed a bell buoy, near the area of the rocks. The strong currents of the waters would often submerge the buoy and set it adrift.
1890 The ineffective buoy was removed.

1901 February 22, the worst ship disaster in San Francisco history took place. The steamer, City Rio Janeiro from Hong Kong ran aground at Fort Point Ledge. As it entered the Golden Gate there was a heavy fog, the warning bell from Fort point was not heard, they ran aground and In approximately 8 minutes the steamer sunk, and 100 to 200 souls where lost. The public outcry for better infrastructure to keep ships safe was heard by Congress and funds where appropriated for the construction of a lighthouse at Mile Rocks. Just North of Point Lobos, at the mouth of the bay, was two large rocks that edged in and out of the water, disappearing with the onslaught of waves. The larger of these rocks 30ft by 40ft at high water, "Mile Rocks," was selected for the building of the lighthouse.

1904. James A. McMahon, set out with a crew of skilled construction workers, when they saw the challenge of working on the small, barnacled wave-washed rock, they turned down work because of safety issues. McMahon recruited a group of deep-water sailors from the waterfront - less skilled as construction workers, but familiar with hazards of the sea. They arrived on the job by jumping from a small boat to the rock, often ending up in the water. The Rio Rey was anchored nearby to provide living quarters for the crew. The lighthouse is considered to be one of America's greatest engineering feats. The Mile Rock Lighthouse was the only caisson style lighthouse on the west coast, described by some as a steel or metal wedding cake. A good portion of the rock was blasted to provide a level foundation. 4ft thick walls, built 35ft high of concrete cosseted by steel plating was the foundation base of the 3 tiered telescoping steel towers. A water cistern and fuel tanks where located within the 35ft base. Steel and concrete in the foundation alone weighed 1,500 tons. The first tier housed the fog signal apparatus, the 2nd tier was the keeper’s quarters, 2 stories, the 1st story had the dayroom, office, and kitchen and the 2nd story the sleeping quarters and bathroom, with the lantern room and storage room on the 3rd tier. The lantern room with its cross hatched windows housed a 3rd order fixed Fresnel lens.

1906 Feb 15th, Mile Rocks joined the sentinels on the west coast with beacon and blare of the fog horn. The light was illuminated by an oil vapor lamp, housed in a Funck 3rd order fixed Fresnel lens. A 3 sec blast every 27 seconds came from a 10" air whistle; operated by duplicate 20 hp Hornsby-Akroyd oil engine. The lighthouse had a crew of 4. Because the living area was so small, families could not live in the lighthouse. The light keeper’s family lived ashore and the light keepers rotated duties. Because Mile Rocks was so isolated, and there was no escaping the blast of the fog signal day or night. the Coast Guard relieved the men one week off for every two weeks worked. Getting to the Light Station involved maneuvering a small boat, at times in the midst of large swells, under a 40ft boom extended over the water to scale a rope ladder (Jacobs Ladder) lowered from the catwalk above to the rocking boats below, from bobbing decks the keeper had to snag the Jacob’s ladder suspended from the tower’s catwalk, and make a 30 ft ascent to the lighthouse tower, occasionally the keeper would be knocked from the ladder. Despite the risks Light Keeper Lyman Woodruff remaind on mile Rocks for 18yrs.

1960's, was the beginning of the end for Mile Rocks, The coast guard deemed the station too difficult to access and maintain they decided over public outcry to automate it.
1966 August, The conversion was completed. The upper 2 tiers were removed and a heli-pad created. Solar panels powered the light station. Air horns served as the fog signal and the Fresnel lens was replaced by an aero beacon and moved to the lantern room in Old Point Loma San Diego, at an expense of $110,000.

1992 Ending another tradition, the Coast Guard stopped the distinctive foghorns replacing them with electronic signals. Protests from romantics all over San Francisco brought some of the horns back.

2009: Today, The white 85-ft tower at Mile Rocks cannot be seen anymore. It now appears like a stubby striped mushroom, its former glory gone.

________________________________________

References
1. Guardians of the Golden Gate, Ralph Shanks, 1990.
2. Lighthouses of the Pacific, Jim Gibbs, 1986.
3. Lighthouse of California, Bruce Roberts & Ray Jones,1930
4. California Lighthouse Life,Wayne C. Wheeler,2000
5. Umbrella Guide to California Lighthouses, Sharlene and Ted Nelson, 1993.

Content is copyright by O'Cairdestudio 2010

Cape Mendocino Light

Location: off Shelter Cove near Point Delgado,Humbolt County, California.
Directions: Cape Mendocino’s Lighthouse tower can be seen in the coastal community of Shelter Cove, 24 miles west of Garberville. Take the Redwood Drive exit from Highway 101 and look for road signs to Shelter Cove, the King Range National Conservation area, Redway or Briceland. In Redway turn west onto Briceland Road to Shelter Cove Road. Follow Shelter Cove road to Upper Pacific, it’s a tee junction. Turn left onto Upper Pacific, then make a right onto Machi Road. You will see the lighthouse from the road. The journey is very rugged and isolated. Set aside about a 90 mins to 2 hours for the journey from Garberville and back again. The lighthouse is open to public, when I visited on the Sunday it closed around 4:00 pm. I read that if you call (707) 986-1611 you can your lighthouse passport signed if no one is at the lighthouse.

Year first lit: 1868
Automated: 1951
Deactivated: 1970s (Old)
Foundation: Concrete
Construction: Cast Iron
Tower shape: white 16-sided Pyramidal
Original lens: 1st order Fresnel lens (Ferndale)
Characteristic: white flash every 30 s.
ARLHS number: USA-129H
USCG number: 6-0515
Markings/Pattern: White
Relationship to Other Structure: Separate


This part of the journey commenced on Sunday after my return trip to the Table Bluff lighthouse. It was also my part of my long drive home. I was somewhat satisfied and also dissatisfied with crop of pictures I took. Knowing I had not got the best of shots and yet with the weather conditions as grey as they where, I accepted the limitations of my environment. My mind had reached a peaceful state, not encroached upon by the pressures of the world. I wondered if I could have lived the life of a monk. I felt I could live without people, how sad is that, Barbara Streisand had a song that had a line “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world”. Strange thoughts when you are alone with yourself, almost as if you where high on drugs. All this natural beauty was so intoxicating, I could feel myself being overwhelmed. At times I just had to pull to the side of the road and snap a few pictures. This Gods country and I have no doubt about it.

Cape Mendocino Lighthouse was relocated to Shelter Cove, a small community on the California coast. Garberville is probably the closest town of descent population size; it was a fair journey from Eureka. I drove South 101 to Garberville. Saw the last of the old town in Eureka in my rear view mirror, worth the visit just for the quaintness of small towns. Played my iPod and listened to a wide variety of music as I travelled south. I argued with myself about visiting Punta Gorda, but with a troubling knee and being on my own, reason won out and it was unto Cape Mendocino. The big trees and the vastness of the mountains constantly assailed my vision, to my left, my right, in front and behind, I was buried in green, my favorite color and lost in nature. I felt I was in Gods hand, and He was loving on me. I took the Garberville exit to which is the turn to the ocean and Shelter Cove from 101 and headed towards Briceland. I made a small stop on the edge of Garberville, pulled out my netbook, posted on twitter & Facebook, sent an email or two, had a cup of coffee and continued my journey.

Small Towns are wonderful and picturesque, artistic building from the past, main streets well defined and locked in an endless time zone. Could I live up here, not sure, definitely need to spend more time travelling these back roads. It could be the beginning of a new adventure. What I am now aware of people in the suburbs lock themselves in their homes and don’t venture out. This is like living in a luxury prison. Big Stores, fine dining and even appreciating the finer things of life is not where fulfillment is at. I know when I came back from this expedition I had a tough time adjusting, my heart longs to travel here again.

The Avenue of the Giant Redwood trees, Sinkyone Wilderness State Park, every turn in the road, the road narrowed, and the trees grew larger and larger, at times the sky was blocked from view. Every so often, my eye would catch a glimpse of some animal; I was never sure what it was. After Briceland I came to a junction that put me on the road towards Shelter Cove. I was no sooner on this road when I crossed a small bridge and came to a clearing that was breath taking. I pulled my SUV into the clearing and grabbed my camera and started to take some shots. God was painting in light before my eyes, and my camera could not catch the range of light. After 20 mins I got in my SUV to resume my journey. It took me about 90 minutes driving on these mountainous roads with uncertainty and 45 minutes on my return.

Eventually I arrived at Shelter Cove, I was famished. It looked so tranquil and had the feeling of being in a resort town of Ireland, Ballybunion or KilKee. The people looked so laid back as if they where separated from this mad world and did not care if it existed outside of their community. The lighthouse is located near the southern end of the cove and is clearly visible from the road. I drove straight to the parking lot in front of the lighthouse. Sitting outside the entrance to the lighthouse was 2 ladies, manning their chairs while sunbathing and chatting about the local events. It was around 3:00 pm and I was informed if I wanted something to eat I better do it now, a younger woman, a daughter of one of the ladies worked in the café, just a stone throw from the lighthouse, introduced herself and said she was on her way back to the café. I followed her and ordered myself a cup of coffee and fish and chips. I said outside in the glaring sunlight, with a small breeze, watching a lazy old dog sleeping under a table. The fish and chips tasted great, it was probably the best fish and chips I ever had.

After I finished eating I made my way around the harbor, watching the boats coming in and the people cleaning their catch for the day. I made my way back to lighthouse, spoke to the two female docents and they gave the rundown on the lighthouse and how it wound up in shelter cove. They also informed me that during the winter they get cutoff from the outside world, and even with an SUV you cannot get in or out, and at times you are without electricity and communication. One of the ladies informed me that her husband was from the west of Ireland and had immigrated to United States, and how they retired to this cove. Its amazing what people is willing to share and how friendly they are. I must record some of these conversations and start taking names. She was very interested in my lighthouse blogs and who knows she might be reading this. But I did envy her way of life that day in the cove. Beach front property, green rolling hills, warm blue waters, a gentle breeze and as she basked in the hot sun, what a day to relax. I took my pictures and with a melancholy heart made my way back to Garberville and the long journey home. My weekend trip had ended, but I will be back, planning my next trip in October.

You can not help but enjoy the fabulous 360 degree panorama of, fir trees, deer, mountains, beaches and surf. Not to mention the Pacific Ocean. The area is an eco-tourists dream.

History

Mid 1800’s Navigating the Californian Coast was quite treacherous. At the westernmost point on California coastline lays Cape Mendocino, it is considered to be one of the most deadly areas for ships. It was evident that a lighthouse was needed to guide merchant ships up and down the hazardous coast.

1867, Sept 14th, the Shubrick a lighthouse tender was heading north with building materials for Cape Mendocino when it was shipwrecked near Punta Gorda, 30 miles to the South. The captain ran her a ground saving lives but loosing supplies. A few months later the building materials and men where successfully delivered and had to be hauled up a steep slope to the site where the lighthouse was to be constructed.

1868 The Cape Mendocino Lighthouse Station was quite large, comprising 171 acres. a 2 story brick light keepers house, a barn, and a carpenter’s shop where completed at the site. At a height of 422 feet above the sea, and 200 yards down a steep cliff, level plateaus had to be carved out to provide a site for a concrete slab to hold the light tower. The tower panels was constructed in San Francisco by Joseph Bein, 16 iron panels where put together and bolted to a concrete pad at the platform in Cape Mendocino, The 43ft tower with its double balcony (design was like Point Reyes) was one of the highest lighthouses in the United States. It was the highest after the light at Point Loma was moved. The roof of the tower is rounded like an umbrella, The first-order Fresnel lens, which had been sent to Eureka by sea was loaded on wagons and moved overland 40 miles south to avoid the risk of damage to it by landing at the risky cape.

1868,Dec 1, the 1st order Fresnel lens cast its proud beacon 25 miles out to sea, sending out its beam of light, one white flash every 30 seconds, a new sentinel was born.

1870 earthquake brought down the first dwellings and over the next 40 yrs they had to be rebuilt several times due to earthquakes in the area. Battered by winds which often blew down chimneys and broke windows and shaken by earthquakes made life as a lighthouse keeper extremely difficult. Keepers and their families occasionally stayed in the tower or the oil house when their dwellings were damaged by storms. Sleeping quarters were built near the tower so that keepers could remain in the tower if weather conditions were too dangerous to return to their regular quarters, as the winds where strong enough to easily blow a person off the cliff. Due to the nature of steep cliffs enclosing the station, frequent landslides occurred during the wet season. Dwelling floors warped and ceilings cracked. It took 3 light keepers to maintain the lighthouse station.

1873 an earthquake opened the ground just 15 ft from the lighthouse tower. The light keepers repaired the opened crack with concrete.

1881, Inspector Charles McDougal boarded a boat to be rowed ashore from the tender Manzanita; large waves overturned the boat, throwing McDougal and 3 others into the chaotic waters. They drowned, including McDougal, who was allegedly weighed down by a bag of gold coins fixed firmly to his waist that was to be given as payment to the light keepers. The following year, McDougal’s widow was selected as light keeper of Mare Island Lighthouse near Vallejo, a position she would keep for the next 35 years.

1890's Progress eventually caught up to the Cape Mendocino station, a dirt road was built to the station.

1896, the Lighthouse Board said the oil house is "almost uninhabitable on account of its bad and unsanitary conditions”, It was too small to accommodate all of the keepers, an assistant keeper and his family were forced to live in the oil house. It was used as housing for keepers for several more years. During this time inspection reports stated the health of the occupants of the lighthouse station as "poor" or "fair." Due to its remoteness the light station was serviced by lighthouse tender

1905, the Blunt's Reef Lightship was stationed offshore to more clearly mark that deadly hazard.

1906 earthquake did more damage to the Cape Mendocino light station and 2 more buildings had to be added..

1908. The 2 New buildings were built, The head keeper’s house was located 300 ft SE of the lighthouse and 35 ft higher on the cliff. A duplex for the two assistants was built 50 ft farther up the cliff face, on a terrace that was roughly 150 ft north of the head keeper’s house.
Even though most of the land was steep, the bucolic hills did provide good feed, and several keepers grazed cows at the station. Assistant keeper P. Hunter raised ponies on the station for the stage line that ran near the station from Ferndale and Petrolia. Given the rising and falling nature of the landscape near Cape Mendocino, a change of horses needed to be made just 4 miles NE of the station in Capetown. Hunter supplied horses for the stage line until motorized vehicle was introduced. After his side income ceased, he transferred to Punta Gorda to be nearer to his hometown.

1916. The passenger steamer Bear ran aground, the steamer’s lifeboats were used to take people ashore, Due to the hazardous surf, 5 drowned, It was considered safer to head for the lightship. 150 people squeezed aboard the lightship. From there they where safely moved to land.

1926 October, The elevated station proved to be an ideal lookout post for Ships. Light Keeper M. M. Palmer saw the Everett a steam schooner, was on fire. From the Light station’s telephone, Palmer called for help. It was found that the crew of the Everett was overcome by the fumes of the fire’s, when the rescue crew arrived. Palmer was attributed with saving the lives of all aboard the schooner Everett.

1939 The United States Coast Guard took control of the Cape Mendocino Lighthouse when the United States Lighthouse Service merged with it. by which time the new caretakers were able to drive vehicles to their remote residences

1951 The light was automated by the uscg a rotating aerobeacon was placed in the lantern room. and the Fresnel lens (1948 according to uscg) was sent to Ferndale, California at the Humbolt County Fairgrounds it was installed in a replica of the tower, During each night of the fair, the lens is lit and sends forth its sixteen beams of glorious light.

1960, the wooden structures at the site burned to the ground to prevent them from being inhabited by squatters.

1971 The rotating beacon was removed from the tower in and placed on a pole farther up the hill. The Light Tower remained - forlorn and abandoned to vandals and the elements. It appeared to be just a matter of time before the old tower would tumble off the cliff and into the sea.

1998, The abandoned lighthouse was slowly inching down the hillside and gradually succumbing to rust until a movement was initiated to save the tower the Cape Mendocino Lighthouse Preservation Society stepped in and moved the tower to Shelter Cove. 1st week of Nov, the Army National Guard helicopter lifted the lantern room off the tower and moved it 30 miles south to Shelter Cove. The lighthouse tower was dismantled numbered, and trucked to a construction yard for restoration. Shelter Cove, was home to a 3,340-lb fog bell, cast at the Navy Yard on Mare Island 1883, used at Alcatraz Island, Los Angeles Harbor, and Carquinez Strait. The Coast Guard finally donated the bell to Humboldt County Historical Society, who gave it to the College of the Redwoods, near Eureka, where the bell is currently on display

1999, the Cape Mendocino Lighthouse Preservation Society had the lighthouse, restored, painted, and fitted with new glass, The lighthouse tower was reassembled at its new location, Point Delgada, Mel Coombs Park, Shelter Cove.

2000 May, after 2 yrs of restoration, the tower was opened to the public. All that remains at the original site is the tower's foundation and a nearby plaque commemorating the lighthouse..


References
Lighthouses and Lifeboats of the Redwood Coast, Ralph Shanks, 1978.
Lighthouses of the Pacific, Jim Gibbs, 1986.
Umbrella Guide to California Lighthouses (2nd Ed.), Nelson pp. 154-156
California Lighthouses, Roberts and Jones p. 18
America's Lighthouses, Holland pp. 170-171

Legendary Lighthouses, Grant and Jones,p 114

External links
US Coast Guard Cape Mendocino Lighthouse
US Coast Guard California Lighthouses



Content is copyright by Ocairdestudio 2009