Harman Patil (Editor)

Slip Point Light

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Deactivated
  
ca. 2000

First lit
  
1905

Height
  
15 m

Automated
  
1977

Slip Point Light wwwlighthousefriendscomslippoint4jpg

Location
  
Clallam Bay, Washington

Year first lit
  
April 1, 1905 (first); 1916 (second); 1951 (third)

Construction
  
Wood frame (first light); steel (second light)

Tower shape
  
Square (first); skeletal tower (second)

Focal height
  
1916 tower: 35 feet (11 m); 1951 tower: 55 feet (17 m)

Similar
  
Marrowstone Point Light, Ediz Hook Light, Smith Island Light Station, Semiahmoo Harbor Light, Cape Flattery Light

Slip Point Lighthouse was a lighthouse on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, sitting on the point of land that marks the eastern side of Clallam Bay in Clallam County, Washington. The original light was replaced by a freestanding tower in 1951, which was discontinued around 2000 and replaced with a buoy light.

Contents

Map of Slip Point Lighthouse, Frontier St, Clallam Bay, WA 98326, USA

History

The Slip Point Light was constructed to fill the 60-mile (97 km) gap between the Cape Flattery and Ediz Hook lights. Funds appropriated in 1900 were insufficient to complete the station as planned, so the first light was simply a lantern hung on the front of the building housing the fog signal. This was first lit in September 1905; in 1916, a short square tower was built on the side of the building, its lantern housing a fourth-order clamshell Fresnel lens visible from the Canadian shore. This building sat at some distance from the keeper's dwelling, a 1½-story house rather larger than the lighthouse proper and situated on the other side of the point. Keepers had to cross a catwalk one-fifth of a mile in length to get from their quarters to the tend the light and fog building.

In 1951, a skeleton tower sheathed in white panels replaced the original fog house and tower. The structures were removed, although the catwalk remained, as the light was not automated until 1977. Around 2000, this light was also discontinued, leaving only a buoy to mark the point. The keeper's house is now used by the local sheriff's department, and the only other traces of the light are the concrete footings which once supported the catwalk. The land is part of Clallam Bay Spit Community Beach County Park.

References

Slip Point Light Wikipedia