Heceta Head Lighthouse and Keepers Quarters, Roosevelt Beach Oregon

Date added: December 15, 2023 Categories: Oregon Lighthouse
View looking northeasterly (1974)

Structure was constructed in 1894 at a cost of $80,000, and has had some alteration through 1933.

This light is unmanned but still serves as an aid to navigation, having one of the most powerful marine beacon on the coast of Oregon.

The lighthouse and its location in name memorialize Captain Don Bruno De Heceta of the Spanish Royal Navy who commanded an expedition of exploration in the Pacific Northwest in 1775. This once remote headland, located about midway between Umpqua River and Yaquina Bay, became the location of the last major coastal light established in Oregon. It is also the most powerful beacon along the Oregon Seacoast.

Construction of the Station, commenced in 1892, was completed in 1894 after a total expenditure of $180,000. It has been reported that the brick masonry materials were freighted by sailing vessel from San Francisco to Florence, reloaded onto barges and towed by the Tug Quillian to the mouth of the Siuslaw, then off-loaded and hauled by team and wagon to the site.

The first order lens, installed in 1893, is of British manufacture by Chance Brothers. More often used in U.S. Lighthouses were those produced by optical specialists in Paris, thus this lens is rare.

Although the buildings have undergone alterations from time to time, the site remains relatively intact and recognizable as a light station. The last resident keeper, Oswald Allik, left in 1963 when the light was automated. The quarters building is under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service. Currently, the quarters are used for an environmental education center by Lane Community College under a Special Use Permit granted by the Forest Service.

Together with its twin, Umpqua River Light, this structure is among the most architecturally impressive lighthouses on the West Coast. It was designed at a time when great attention was devoted to decorative detail of Utilitarian Buildings. The sensitive juxtaposition of textures of the stucco and the cut and rusticated stone has not been disguised by numerous coats of paint.

The siting of the light structure is spectacular. Because of the high visibility to travelers northbound on US 101, this is probably Oregon's most photographed coastal light. It is certainly the central element in a scene long to be remembered.

Heceta Head is now operated as a fully automated, unmanned station.

Site Description

The lighthouse is a three-part structure comprised of a workroom, passage and tower. It was built about the same time as the Umpqua Lighthouse 28 miles to the south, apparently using the same drawings and specifications.

The tower is a conical stuccoed brick masonry structure with sandstone trim at the base, window enframents, and cornice. The diameters of the tower are 24' - 6" at the ground, 19' - 6" above the base and 15' - 6" below the cornice. The height of the masonry tower is 42 feet from the floor of the tower to the floor of the lantern.

The lantern has sixteen sides and is glazed with rectangular panes in three tiers. A simple wrought iron railing surrounds the lantern above the stone cornice of the tower. The lantern is topped with a metal ball ventilator 2" -6" in diameter.

The cast #ron stairway was lighted by two large windows, the lower facing South and the upper North. These windows have been infilled with brick masonry as a preservation measure. The watchroom below the lantern is lighted by four windows alternating with recessed panels.

The small passage, masonry walled, is 6' -8". It was lighted by one window on each side.

The exterior dimensions of the masonry workroom are 12'-2" by 16'-2". Access from the exterior is gained up masonry steps through a door on the North side. Light was provided by two windows on the opposite side. A fireplace occupied the East wall.

The exterior of the structure is well-executed and endowed with interesting details. The tower rises from a nine-foot-high base formed by two belts of cut stonework. Separated by a stuccoed drum. A band of large moulded modillions terminates the masonry below the lantern. The workroom walls rise above a stone base and terminate in sloped stone-capped parapets at the gables. Keystones and rusticated window sills add interest to the openings.

The first-order lens with eight bullseyes was illuminated originally by a five-wick coal oil lamp to generate 80,000 candle power. The oil lamp was superseded by a gas burner in 1910, which, in turn, gave way to electric power. The present source of illumination is a 500-watt bulb generating a beam of 1,000,000 candle power which is visible 21 miles.

The paint colors are: red roof; dark green lantern; and white walls.

The two oil houses are of brick masonry construction of dimensions 12' X 16'. The gables are enriched with stepped, corbelled trim. Access is provided by a metal door on one end and a window (now sealed) is located on the other. The cornice was originally sheet metal and the roof corrugated iron; however, modifications through the years have altered this.

The quarters originally comprised a single dwelling for the keeper and a double for two assistants. The designs were identical and provided three rooms on each of two floors, a full basement, an attic, a front porch, and a woodshed and storage ell to the rear. The drawings called for such amenities as a hot air furnace and a kitchen sink equipped with a pump. Water was provided from a filtering cistern 14' in diameter and 11' high (1 per unit).

The exterior of the quarters, of wood frame construction, is sheathed in rustic siding below the second-floor line and wood shingles above. Major decorative features are the moulded window enframements and the railings and other wood trim on the front porch.

Extensive modifications were made to the quarters buildings in the 1930's. Windows in the double dwelling were altered and the woodshed ells were removed. The single dwelling was razed. The quarters are now under the jurisdiction of the U. S. Forest Service.

Heceta Head Lighthouse and Keepers Quarters, Roosevelt Beach Oregon View looking northeasterly (1974)
View looking northeasterly (1974)

Heceta Head Lighthouse and Keepers Quarters, Roosevelt Beach Oregon Looking northwesterly (1957)
Looking northwesterly (1957)