|
Crescent City lies roughly fifteen miles south of the
border between California and Oregon. The city's harbor
has served as a starting point for those bound for the
gold fields of the west, as well as a port for transporting
timber from the ample regional forests.
In 1855, $15,000 was appropriated to build a light to mark
Battery Point, so named for the three cannon salvaged from the
America and placed at the point. The point is an island
at high tide. A 45-foot tower and dwelling housed a fourth-order
Fresnel lens, which was visible for fourteen miles.
The light was lit on December 10, 1856. The first keeper, Theophilis
McGruder, arrived on Christmas Day of the same year. McGruder
arrived in the west with James Marshall in search of gold in Oregon's
mountain streams. McGruder and Marshall parted in 1845. Marshall eventually
ventured to the Sierras, where he discovered gold in 1849, triggering
the California Gold Rush.
Keeper John Jeffrey arrived at the station in 1875. At the time, the Lighthouse
Board was questioning the need for the light, and considered closing the station
when the St. George Reef station opened.
However, the station remained, as did the Jeffrey family. Jeffrey served at
Crescent City for 39 years.
The station has survived several brushes with disaster. In 1879,
a wave crashed through the Jeffrey family's kitchen, tipped over the
stove, and ignited a fire the kitchen. Fortunately, a second wave doused the
flames before more damage could be done. In 1964, an earthquake in Alaska
drove five tidal waves crashing into Crescent City. Eleven lives were
lost and 29 blocks of the city destroyed, but miraculously the lighthouse
was spared.
In 1953, the light was automated, and the Fresnel lens replaced by a modern
optic. In 1965, the light was closed and replaced with a breakwater light.
The lighthouse became the property of the
Del Norte Historical Society. In 1982, the society re-established the light
as a private aid to navigation, and renamed the station Battery Point Lighthouse.
Today the station is manned by resident curators, who serve not only to maintain
the station, but also to welcome visitors to the station.
Umbrella Guide to California Lighthouses, Nelson pp. 165-168
California Lighthouses, Roberts and Jones p. 12
|
