|
Ships travelling between San Francisco and Los Angeles
must navigate a protrusion in the coastline marked
by Point Arguello in the northwest and
Point Conception
in the southeast. A light was completed at the
latter site in 1856, but it was not until 1901 that
a station was established at Point Arguello.
The station was fitted with a fourth-order Fresnel lens
from Point Hueneme,
and a compressed air fog signal. The light was placed
on a small tower atop the fog signal building. Due to erosion,
The tower was replaced in 1911 with a standalone tower.
Despite the station's presence, accidents still occurred
at Point Arguello. In 1911, the passenger steamer
Santa Rosa ran aground off the point. In 1923,
a flotilla of fourteen U.S. Navy destroyers mistook
Point Arguello for
Point Conception.
Seven destroyers and twenty-three sailors were lost
in the disaster. Keepers Gotford Olson, Arvel Settles and
Jesse Mygrants received commendations from the Navy
for their efforts in rescuing the shipwrecked crews.
In 1934, the tower was razed and replaced with a skeleton
tower. The residences were torn down in the 1960's, when
the current steel tower was constructed.
Umbrella Guide to California Lighthouses, Nelson pp. 41-44
California Lighthouses, Roberts and Jones pp. 47-48, 58
California Lighthouse Life in the 1920's and 1930's, Wheeler p. 22
California Light Stations and Other Aids to Navigation c. 1950, Twohy and Mattson p. 50
|
