Pigeon Point was originally known as Punta de las Balenas
(Whale Point) due to groups of gray whales which passed
offshore during their migration periods. On June 6, 1853,
the clipper ship Carrier Pigeon was shipwrecked on
the rocks of a point just south of Half Moon Bay. The site
was renamed Pigeon Point in memory of the disaster. When the
Coast Guard surveyed the area shortly afterward, they
recommended a light at either Pigeon Point or nearby Año Nuevo.
nothing was done until the early 1870's. In the meantime,
three major wrecks occurred in the area - the American
clipper Sir John Franklin in 1865, the British bark
Coya in 1866, and the Hellespont in 1868.
Forty-nine lives were lost in these three wrecks. The San
Mateo County Gazette wrote following the wreck of the
Hellespont, "No other one place on the Pacific Coast has
proved so fatal to navigators as this locality...all of the
vessels that have been lost in the vicinity of Pigeon Point
have been wrecked in consequence of dense fogs which
prevented the land from being sighted until the vessels were
among the breakers." (Perry, p. 24)
In 1870, the government purchased the Pigeon Point and Año Nuevo sites
for $10,000. The owner, Loren Coburn, was a "shrewd,
unscrupulous businessman whom many people disliked."
(Perry, p. 26) He and his brother-in-law, Jeremiah Clarke,
tried to sell the land for $40,000, but settled for $10,000
when the government threatened to condemn the land.
Funds were appropriated for the lighthouse at the end of
1870, and construction began in 1871. The tower, over 100
feet high, was built with "separate inner and outer walls
with an airspace between which insulates the interior
ironworks against corrosion." (Pigeon Point tour pamphlet)
The walls were 4.5 feet thick. 500,000 bricks were used to
build the tower. In fact, it took over a million, since the
builders rejected the first batch of 500,000 as being of
unacceptable quality. A fog-signal and
Victorian dwelling for four families were also built at the
The first-order Fresnel lens was first lit on November 15,
1872. The lens consists of 1008 separate lenses and prisms,
and weighs over 8000 pounds. There is some intrigue
regarding the origin of the Fresnel lens. Some stories
placed the light at Fort Sumter, and others at Cape
Hatteras. There are stories that the lantern was captured by
the Confederates, and subsequently recaptured by Federal
The most likely history of the lens is provided by
Commissioner of Lighthouses George Putnam, who wrote in 1924
to district superintendent Harry Rhodes, "You are advised
that the lens now at Pigeon Point appears the be the second
lens placed in commission at Cape Hatteras light...(the
second lens) was discontinued in 1870 when the new (present)
tower at Cape Hatteras was established...it was placed in
storage at the General Lighthouse Depot on January 17, 1871,
and on August 11, 1871, was shipped to Pigeon Point."
Curtains were (and are still) drawn
during much of the day to protect the lens from sunlight,
which can yellow the prisms. The lamp ran on oil until
about 1926, when it received electricity.
The original fog signal was a steam whistle, which operated
an average of 900 hours per year. The whistle required large
quantities of water, collected in nearby rainsheds, to
maintain pressure. In 1911, the signal was replaced by an
compressed air siren. In 1935, a diaphone replaced the air
siren. The diaphone was operational until 1976, when it was
superceded by silent directional devices, such as radar.
Ships were still sometimes lost near the point even after
construction of the light. The liner Columbia ran
aground in 1896. Residents salvaged materials from the lost
ship, including copper wire and white paint. "Soon, every
house in the area had copper clothes lines and a fresh coat
of paint." (Perry, p. 61) The German schooner
Triton was lost in 1911, and the Point Arena
was dashed on the rocks in 1913.
During prohibition, the isolated coast south of San Francisco
became a popular area for bootleggers. They often used
Pigeon Point's derrick at night for hoisting crates. A
chain was flung over the telephone wires to short the lines
and cut off the station - making the keeper's powerless to
stop them. Keeper Jesse Mygrants was once forced at gunpoint
to drive a rumrunner to town.
In 1939, the Coast Guard assumed control of the station. A
radio beacon was installed in 1943. The beautiful old
Victorian dwelling was demolished in 1960 and replaced by
four cottages. By the 1970's the signal was automated. An
aerobeacon was installed outside the lantern room in 1972.
Seaman Albert Tucker served as the station's caretaker during
the late 1970's. He and his wife kept an 800 pound pig named
Lester, which proved sufficient to ward off would-be
The station suffered minimal damage from the 1989 Loma Prieta
earthquake. In 1992-1993, the lighthouse underwent a major
restoration project. Today, the buildings are leased to the
Hostelling International USA.
The lighthouse was open
for tours until December 2001, when two large sections of brick and
cast-iron fell from the tower. An investigation of the tower revealed
that the tower required major structural restoration. Estimated
cost of the restoration project is $5 million. The lighthouse
was transferred to the California Parks Department on May 25, 2005
as part of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000.
The fog signal building now houses an intepretive center.
As of 2008, the tower remains closed pending renovation.
Pigeon Point Lighthouse, Perry pp. 24, 26, 28, 37-39, 61
Umbrella Guide to California Lighthouses, Nelson p. 79
The Lost Light - The Mystery of the Missing Cape Hatteras Fresnel Lens,
Duffus p. 161-167, 185
The Keeper's Log Summer 2005