Point Cabrillo Light Station, Caspar California

Date added: November 04, 2022 Categories: California Lighthouse

Point Cabrillo was the light of the smaller lumber schooners that served the many narrow "doghole" ports of the Mendocino coast. Prior to the construction of the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse in 1909, no light existed on the coast between Point Arena and Cape Mendocino, a distance of 115 miles. Unlike the larger ships in coastwise traffic, the schooners hugged the shoreline, often at great risk and peril. The timber-based economy of the region in the late 19^th and early 20^th century was totally dependent on the doghole ports and landings to transport the lumber that was building California. The lumber required to rebuild San Francisco after the 1906 quake further increased lumbering traffic along the Mendocino coast. After several decades of political pressure from lumber interests and Mendocino City business leaders, Congress authorized $50,000 for a light station at Point Cabrillo in 1906. Its first beam of light shown on June 10, 1909. It is not without symbolism that the whole station (except for the fireproof oil bunker) was constructed entirely of wood. As the doghole ports and redwood coastal schooners gave way to the railroads and highways in the mid-twentieth century, the lighthouse continued to serve the needs of the commercial fishing fleet and the remaining coastal freight traffic.

The lighthouse is a substantial structure built to contain a Fresnel lens (in this case 3^rd order) and its architectural integrity is complete (including the in-place lens). From a distance the structure resembles a country church with the lighthouse tower forming the "steeple" in the front central facade. A number of wood-frame lighthouses of this configuration were built in Washington and Oregon in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. Point Cabrillo is the only one constructed in California, however. The structure's massive Craftsman brackets and all-frame construction make it an ideal design for this, the lighthouse of the north coast lumber fleet.

There are three two story Keeper's dwellings. The center building is somewhat larger than the other two and it was reserved for the Head Keeper's family. They are all quite similar in appearance. The buildings in this group are an excellent example of the Craftsman style of residential design very popular in California in the early years of this century. Rustic architectural features such as massive exposed beams and brackets and exterior wood shingles make this style perfectly suited to the light station of the north coast fishing fleet. Throughout the first two decades of the 20^th century a number of craftsman style Keeper's dwellings were erected in California, especially in the lumbering region along the north coast. Today, only these and the ones in Point Loma in San Diego remain.

The Point Cabrillo Light Station is an excellent example of a historically intact early 20th-century light station. All of the original station buildings and structures are still remaining on the site (except for the barn). The station consists of the tower/fog-signal building, and water tank; and nine other buildings (carpenter's shop, oil house, three dwellings, three storage buildings and a pumphouse). The station is situated on a grassy mesa 60' above the ocean. The station's buildings are built in a straight line at a 90 degree angle to the sea with the tower/fog signal building being the first in line back from the cliffs, Seen from a distance, the tower/fog-signal building resembles a typical North Coast, frame church and steeple. The residences grouped near the tower gives the impression of a small, rural village.

A wood-frame lighthouse tower attached to a one-story peaked-roof fog-signal building. The tower itself is a 47' high octagon structure attached on the east facade of the building. At the top of the tower, a cylindrical lantern room is capped with a copper conical roof and ball vent. The side of the lantern room is covered with iron plates and glass panels between diagonal iron muntins. A few of the glass panels have been replaced with plexiglass. The lantern room rests atop a railed octagonal platform that extends out approximately 2' from each side of the eight-sided tower located immediately below. The tower shaft is pierced by four 6/6 double-hung windows and the first-level entrance door. The attached fog-signal building contains two additional 6/6 double-hung windows on the front (east) facade and two more on the rear. Four identical windows are also found on the south side of the structure, and three on the north. An additional entrance door is found on the north facade and a set of double doors is found on the rear (west) side of the structure. Both the tower and the fog-signal building are sheathed in narrow, horizontal clapboard siding. Wood shingles cover the roof. Outstanding features include the decorative iron railing on the lantern room gallery and the massive craftsman brackets under the gable eaves and gallery platform. The architectural integrity of the structure is intact including the original 3^rd order Fresnel lens. However, some modern navigational antennae have been tacked on to the top of the tower.

The Keeper's Quarters consist of three two-story wood-frame Craftsman style buildings built in a row at a right angle to the sea. Each house sits in the middle of its own fenced yard. The middle building was built as the Keeper's residence, and the two flanking buildings were designed as Assistant Keeper's residences. The Keeper's residence is somewhat larger than the other two, but they are all very similar in appearance. Each house is based on an L-shaped plan with a roofline containing prominent intersecting cross gables. The roof is covered in wood shingles, and massive craftsman-style brackets are found under the eaves. The second-story facade is covered in wood shingles, painted white. The first story is covered in narrow, horizontal clapboard to match the lighthouse tower. It also is painted white. Shed-roof and hip-roof porches are found on the front and rear of each structure. Several of these appear to have been partially enclosed, probably not many years after the station's founding. No other changes appear to have been made on the buildings' exterior. Modifications have occurred on the interior, however, as the residences have been upgraded to modern living standards. The bulk of the woodwork, staircases, and fireplace details remain in place. Each building rests on a concrete foundation.

Three small one-room, one-story, hip-roof storage buildings are located to the rear of each house. These are now being used as garages with the addition of garage doors. The sides are sheathed in wood shingle, tying the design in with the Craftsman style homes in the front.

The Oil House is a small flat-roofed, one-story, rectangular building made entirely of concrete with a fireproof iron door. Most oil houses in California resemble this one quite closely. Their unadorned, functional design reflects their utilitarian usage. This oil house does depart from most others, however, in that a small storeroom, complete with its own exterior door and window, has been included on the east side.

The Carpenter's Building/Blacksmith Shop is a one-story single room, double bay frame building with a wood shake, hip roof. Two sets of metal double-doors are found on the front (south) facade. Two freestanding 6/6 double-hung windows are found on the east and west facades. The top 3/4 of the structure's sides are covered in wood shingles painted white. The lower 1/4 is covered in horizontal clapboards painted brown. The building appears to be in very good condition. Its shingle-sided construction places it stylistically with the other Craftsman style buildings on the site.

The Pump House is a small, one-room, one-story building with a hip roof. The sides are covered with the same narrow clapboards found on the lighthouse tower.

The Water Tank is a metal sided, cylindrical tank approximately 15* tall. A metal, conical roof with a decorative center spire covers the structure.