Deactivated 2008 Construction Sandstone/brick Address Neah Bay, WA 98357, USA Opened 1854 Automated 1977 | Year first lit 1857 Foundation Surface Tower shape Conical Height 20 m Focal height 50 m Year first constructed 1854 | |
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Similar Tatoosh Island, Cape Flattery, Slip Point Light, Makah Museum, New Dungeness Light | ||
Cape flattery lighthouse july 2012
The Cape Flattery Light is a historic lighthouse structure located at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Neah Bay, Clallam County, in the U.S. state of Washington. The deactivated lighthouse sits on Tatoosh Island, which is named after Chief Tatooche of the Makah Tribe. It is the northwesternmost lighthouse on the West Coast of the contiguous United States. Although closed to the public, it can be viewed from Cape Flattery via a short 30-minute walk.
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History
The lighthouse was built in 1854 based on the design by Ammi B. Young. Its first light was displayed from a first-order lens in 1857 and was Washington Territory's third lighthouse. The house with a 65-foot (20 m) tower from the center still stands; the tower's light stands 165 feet (50 m) above water. A fog signal building with a 12-inch (300 mm) steam whistle was built on the island in 1872. The original first-order lens was replaced by a fourth-order lens in 1932, then with a modern optic lens in 1977.
The lighthouse's light was decommissioned after a 30-foot (9.1 m) skeletal structure with a solar-powered beacon fitted with six-year solar pack batteries was built on the island in 2008. In 2009, the Coast Guard began cleanup operations in anticipation of turning the historic lighthouse over to the Makah tribe, who own Tatoosh Island. After the transfer, the Coast Guard will continue to have access for purposes of maintaining the optic.