Point Cabrillo Light Station

https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=22276 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Cabrillo_Light Point Cabrillo Light is a lighthouse in northern California, United States, between Point Arena and Cape Mendocino, just south of the community of Caspar. It has been a federal aid to navigation since 1909. It should not be confused with the inactive Old Point Loma Lighthouse or the active New Point Loma Lighthouse in San Diego, both of which lie within the grounds of Cabrillo National Monument and are sometimes referred to as the Cabrillo lighthouse.

Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park Our Mission The mission of the California Department of Parks and Recreation is to provide for the health, inspiration and education of the people of California by helping to preserve the state’s extraordinary biological diversity, protecting its most valued natural and cultural resources, and creating opportunities for high-quality outdoor recreation. Point Cabrillo Light Station has ensured the safety of thousands of ships traveling the treacherous waters off Point Cabrillo. California State Parks supports equal access. Prior to arrival, visitors with disabilities who need assistance should contact the park at (707) 937-5804. This publication is available in alternate formats by contacting: CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS P. O. Box 942896 Sacramento, CA 94296-0001 For information call: (800) 777-0369 (916) 653-6995, outside the U.S. 711, TTY relay service www.parks.ca.gov Discover the many states of California.TM Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park 13800 Point Cabrillo Drive Mendocino, CA 95460 (707) 937-5804 © 2008 California State Parks Printed on Recycled Paper Northern harrier photo courtesy of Ron LeValley P oint Cabrillo Today Pomo descendants occupy parts of their ancestral lands and have revived their language and traditions. Light Station State Historic Park is a living link to California’s history, featuring a beautifully rehabilitated 1909 lighthouse and 11 other structures, The Wreck of including three the Frolic Family of lightkeeper Albert Scott, ca.1911 lightkeepers’ homes. In 1850, the clipper In a nearby cove rest brig Frolic, on its the remains of the Frolic, the most important way to San Francisco with a cargo of Chinese Gold Rush-era shipwreck in California. housewares, struck a reef just north of what Located four miles north of Mendocino, later became Point Cabrillo. After securing the park’s 296.5 acres of open space include the wrecked ship in what is now called Frolic an impressive variety of wildlife and hiking Cove, the captain and some of the crew took trails. long boats to carry word of the wreck south PARK HISTORY Native People For thousands of years, the rich waters and headlands around Point Cabrillo were the summer hunting and gathering grounds of the Pomo people. The Pomo moved here from their inland encampments in early summer to harvest abalone, mussels, seals and sea lions, deer, kelp and salt. These foods were carried to their permanent villages and stored for the winter. In the late 1850s, settlers and lumbermen began using the lands for grazing and harvesting timber for railroad ties. As the influx of settlers increased, the Pomo way of life was forever altered. to Fort Ross. In 1851, Harry Meiggs, a San Francisco lumber dealer, sent Jerome Ford north in hopes of salvaging cargo. By then, the ship had sunk, but not before the Pomo had removed Chinese ginger jars, bolts of silk, camphor, lacquered trunks, housewares and other items. Ford found Pomo women wearing splendid silk shawls, but there was no cargo left to salvage. Ford told his employer about the lack of salvageable cargo, but noted that there were groves of redwood and Douglas fir in the area. A year later, Meiggs had sawmill equipment shipped around Cape Horn and erected a mill at Big River. This led to the founding of Mendocino and the beginning of the timber industry in Northern California. Local mills supplied wood to help build San Francisco and to construct the Point Cabrillo Light Station. The Light Station The Point Cabrillo Light Station was built following the 1906 earthquake, which had ravaged San Francisco. The Light Station was needed to guide small “Doghole” schooners that plied the coastal waters, carrying lumber to rebuild San Francisco. The earthquake severely damaged the Point Arena Lighthouse, leaving no lighthouses between Cape Mendocino and Bodega Bay. Construction of the Point Cabrillo Light Station building began in 1908 and was completed in early 1909. The Light Station, comprising 30.5 acres and 15 structures, was managed by the U.S. Lighthouse Service. The Head Lightkeeper was in charge of the Light Station, overseeing the work of the First Assistant (the Wickie) and the Second Assistant (the Timer). Daily tasks included maintaining the Lighthouse lantern room, lens, kerosene oil lamp, clockworks, the other 14 buildings and the raised garden beds where food was grown. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) assumed command of the Point Cabrillo Light Station in 1939 and managed it until 1991. Frolic Cove The Lens The British-built Fresnel (fra-nel) lens—the most advanced example of lens technology at the time—was first lit on June 10, 1909, by Wilhelm Baumgartner, the first Head Lightkeeper. The British-built lens, one of only twelve in the U.S., was manufactured by Chance Brothers and shipped around the Horn. The lens has 90 glass prism pieces; the original lens was turned by a wind-up clockworks mechanism. Volunteer with Fr