January 26, 2010

Post date: Jan 25, 2010 7:25:02 PM

The Pigeon Point Lighthouse was built in 1872. It is one of the tallest active lighthouses on the west coast (150 feet above sea level). Its rotating white beam flashes once every 10 seconds. The original Fresnel lens had 1,008 glass prisms. The lens was 16 feet tall, 6 feet wide, and weighed over 4 tons!

When necessary, light stations use fog horns in addition to light signals. Settlers around Pigeon Point described their signal as sounding like “an asthmatic old bovine” or “stuck hog”. In fact, the first time the fog horn was used, local farmers set off to find the grizzly bear that was obviously attacking their cows!

The light station dock was used by rumrunners and bootleggers during Prohibition in the 1920’s. The lighthouse keepers were helpless to stop it. It is estimated that tens of millions of dollars in whiskey were brought ashore during that period.

Pigeon Point's original name was Whale Point. It is an excellent location to look for spouts of migrating whales offshore.