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Point Sur, just south of Monterey, is a large volcanic rock
jutting from the Pacific. The point is over 360 feet above
sea level, and was originally only 10-12 feet wide at the
top. In 1875 the steamship Ventura was lost off
Point Sur. For 11 years, the U.S. Lighthouse Service was
petitioned for a lighthouse at Point Sur. Money for the
lighthouse was first appropriated in 1886.
As is the case with many of the California lighthouses,
construction was difficult. Part of the top was blasted off
the rock to allow for building construction. Five hundred
feet of railway track and a corduroy road (a road composed of
wooden planks) were built to transport granite and materials
to and up the rock. A 395-step staircase was originally the
only access by foot.
Work was completed in 1889, and a first-order Fresnel lens
installed. The lens consisted of 16 panels of prisms with a
bullseye center prism. The granite tower housing the lens
stood 40 feet tall. The station was also equipped with a
steam whistle fog signal and keeper's dwelling, which housed
three families. A 53,000-gallon capacity water cistern
collected water for the steam-powered fog signal. In 1902, a
second story was added to the building which housed the steam
donkey engine (which powered the winch which pulled the cars
up the rail line). This floor became the head keeper's
residence.
Schooling was difficult to the children of the lighthouse
keepers. The keeper's children had to travel down the
corduroy road and across the sand to school.Starting in
1927, a teacher provided by the school district lived at the
station. Due to the lonely existence at the station, the
teachers, usually young women just out of college, did not
stay long. In the 1940's a schoolhouse was built near the
highway in order to be accessible to a larger number of
students from the surrounding area.
As Point Sur is remote, its residents became quite
self-sufficient. A lighthouse tender arrived with supplies
only about once every four months. Soil was hauled up to the
station so each keeper's family could have a small garden. A
blacksmith shop and barn were built at the station. A patio
was built next to the barn to allow the keepers to keep a
cow! Chickens which were kept at the station had to be tied
up to keep them from being blown of the point by high winds.
Extreme isolation remained the norm at Point Sur until the
completion of California Highway 1 in 1937.
On February 12, 1935, the 785-foot U.S. Navy Dirigible
Macon crashed into the Pacific Ocean off Point Sur. Two
of the crew of 83 died in the disaster, which signaled the
end of the era of Navy airships. The wreckage was not
located until 1990, when divers from the U.S. Navy and
Monterey Bay Aquarium photographed the wreckage.
The light was automated in 1972. Aerobeacons replaced the
Fresnel lens. The lens is on display at the Maritime Museum
in Monterey. In 1984, the station (except the lighthouse)
was transferred to the California Department of Parks and
Recreation. The station is the only remaining complete
lightstation in California (all original buildings are still
intact).
The lantern room was repainted, in keeping with
records indicating that the tower was black, not white.
On April 23, 2004, the lighthouse itself was officially
transferred to the California Department of Parks and
Recreation. The Central Coast Lighthouse Keepers, in
conjunction with the state, have been raising money
and performing ongoing restoration of the station.
Umbrella Guide to California Lighthouses, Nelson pp. 55-58
Pt Sur State Historic Park (pamphlet)
The Keeper's Log Summer 2003, Winter 2004, Spring 2004, Summer 2004 , Fall 2004, Spring 2005
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