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Point No Point lies where Admiralty Inlet meets Puget Sound.
The site was named by Lt. Charles Wilkes in 1841. Wilkes spotted
what he first thought was a prominent point into the
sound. When less prominent than first thought, he named
it Point No Point.
In the late 1860's there were no lights south of
Admiralty Head.
A lighthouse was recommended in 1872, but construction did
not begin until 1879, due to debate over the light's location (some felt
nearby Foulweather Bluff was better suited) and difficulties
in acquiring the property.
The first principal keeper, J.S. Maggs, arrived before
construction was complete. Determined to mark the site,
he placed a kerosene lamp in the tower on New Year's Day 1880.
When the light, a twin of the one at
West Point,
was completed, a fourth-order Fresnel lens shone from
the tower. A fog bell was also installed.
During Maggs' tenure, his wife had a baby. To provide milk,
Maggs purchased a cow, which was delivered by schooner and swam
to shore. On another occasion, Maggs and an assistant keeper name
Manning nearly came to blows over operation of the station's
fog signal. The assistant was soon replaced. The Maggs family
left Point No Point in 1884.
A Daboll trumpet replaced the fog bell in 1900. In 1915, the lens
was replaced by a larger fourth-order lens. The lens was cracked in
a 1931 lightning storm, but remains in use today.
Only two principal keepers served from 1888-1937 - Edward Scannell
(1888-1914) and W.H. Cary (1914-1937). During this period, a road
was built from Port Gamble. Prior to the road, all access to the
lighthouse was by boat. A post office opened in 1893, and the keeper's
wife served as the postmistress. Keeper Cary's wife called in
the weather to the weather bureau in the 1930's.
The Coast Guard manned the station through 1977, when the lighthouse
was automated. The lighthouse is still active.
Umbrella Guide to Oregon Lighthouses, Nelson pp. 18-21
Pacific Northwest Lighthouses, Roberts and Jones p. 41
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