Point Conception and Point Arguello bound a protrusion of Central California's coast. Point Conception also marks the northwest entrance to the Santa Barbara Channel, which is bounded to the south by the Channel Islands. The site was chosen as one of the first of California's lighthouses.

Construction began in 1854 at the isolated point on a bluff 220 feet above sea level. When Inspector Hartman Bache examined the site, he found the work to be shoddy and the lantern room too small for the first-order Fresnel lens. The structure was subsequently torn down, rebuilt, and finally lit in 1856.

The station was extremely isolated. The first keeper, George Parkinson, found the station occupied by Native Americans. The nearest supplies were in Santa Barbara, 65 miles away, and the access road accessible only at low tide. As late as the 1940's, the station had no electric lights or telephone.

In 1875, the lighthouse structure was deteriorating. The tower was replaced in 1882 with a new plastered brick structure 133 feet above sea level. The tower was lowered to reduce the effects of low clouds which obscured the first site. A new dwelling was built in 1906, and another in 1912. The light was automated in 1973, and is operated today by Coast Guard Station Channel Islands.

References (see links)

Umbrella Guide to California Lighthouses, Nelson pp. 37-40
California Lighthouses, Roberts and Jones p. 59