|
Point Adams Lighthouse marked the southern approach
to the Columbia River. In 1856, the
Cape Disappointment
light was built north of the river. In 1873 the Lighthouse
Service selected a location for a new lighthouse on the
southern shore of the river.
The location was criticized by mariners - the fog signal
would be drowned out by ocean breakers. Nevertheless,
the Point Adams lighthouse was lit in 1875. The station,
which used the same design as
Point Fermin
in California, housed a fourth-order Fresnel lens and
fog signal. The tower was 49 feet high, and rose 99
feet above sea level.
Three keepers were assigned to Point
Adams. The first head keeper was H.C. Tracy.
Point Adams was a relatively pleasant station for keepers.
The station neighbored Fort Stevens, and had easy access to
the surroundings, including Astoria.
Joel Munson began service as principal keeper from 1881
until it was discontinued in 1899. Munson served at
Cape Disappointment
for 12 years prior to arriving at Point Adams.
He was known as the "fiddling" lighthouse keeper
due to his skill playing the fiddle.
Munson presided over many changes at the station. One keeper
left a year before Munson arrived, and another keeper left
after the fog signal (which proved as ineffective as
mariners feared) was removed in 1881 - leaving Munson as the
sole keeper at Point Adams. With the completion of
Tillamook Rock in 1881,
the station's signature changed from flashing red and white
to fixed red - a change which caused the British
ship Fern Glen to run aground. The vessel was apparently
unaware of the change.
Finally, the Lighthouse Service decided to discontinue
Point Adams and relocate the station. In 1899 the lighthouse
was discontinued in favor of a new station at
Desdemona Sands.
The station was abandoned, and finally burned down
by the Lighthouse Service in 1912.
Oregon's Seacoast Lighthouses, Gibbs pp. 208, 210-212
Umbrella Guide to Oregon Lighthouses, Nelson pp. 69-73
|
