In the mid-1800's, Coos Bay had become a center for transport of lumber from Oregon's forests. The level of shipping traffic was sufficient to warrant appropriation of $15,000 to build a lighthouse at Cape Arago (then called Cape Gregory) to mark the entrance to the bay. The funds were appropriated in 1864, when the government was fighting the American Civil War and had limited funds for navigational aids. The result was a 25-foot octagonal tower housing a fourth-order Fresnel lens. The tower had a skeleton base with an open spiral staircase to reach the lantern room and the enclosed space below. The tower stood on an island just off the shore, approximately 2.5 miles north of the cape itself. The tower was built at the western edge of the island and fully exposed to the Pacific. A keeper's residence was built at the opposite end of the island. The residence and tower were connected by a 1300-foot wooden walkway. A tramway for delivering supplies was built from the beach. Keepers traveled by small boat to reach "Lighthouse Island." The station was operational in 1866.

Almost immediately, the elements took their toll on the lighthouse. The tramway was damaged by a storm in 1867. The outbuildings were damaged in 1875. A wooden footbridge built in 1876 to connect the island to the mainland was washed away in 1878. The tramway was damaged again the same year. The footbridge was damaged again in 1879. Shortly afterwards, the dwelling and cistern required repair.

Improvements gradually followed. A picket fence, new boathouse, footbridge, keeper's dwelling, and fog signal were added or rebuilt at Cape Arago from 1883-1897. The US Lifesaving service established a station nearby. Meanwhile, due to the threat of erosion and the demands of mariners that a better light mark the station, the original lighthouse was replaced. A new tower designed by Carl Leick was put into operation in 1909. The new wooden tower was 100 feet above the water, and was similar in design to those at Mukilteo and Ediz Hook in Washington.

Erosion eventually threatened the second tower as well. In 1934, a third lighthouse opened. It was built of reinforced concrete to better withstand the inclement weather of the cape. The tower housed the fourth-order lens from the second lighthouse, and used the same design as Point Robinson in Washington. The first lighthouse, which still stood abandoned at the end of the island, was finally razed. Debris from its destruction are still at the end of the island. The second lighthouse had its tower removed and was converted into an office.

The lighthouse was automated in 1966. The Fresnel lens was replaced with a modern optic in 1993. On January 1, 2006, the light was discontinued. The footbridge to the island is fenced off, as are the surrounding grounds on the mainland. All structures other than the third lighthouse (including the second) have been removed. The station is off-limits to the public. As of 2006, the future of the site is uncertain.

References (see links)

Oregon's Seacoast Lighthouses, Gibbs pp. 65-70, 72-73
Umbrella Guide to Oregon Lighthouses, Nelson pp. 16-17, 20-22
Lighthouses Northwest - the Designs of Carl Leick, Aliberti p. 13
Keeper's Log Winter 2006
Lighthouse Digest March 2006, April 2006