Ilwaco, WA

After Cape Disappointment Lightstation was established in 1856 to mark the entrance to the Columbia River, mariners approaching the river from the north complained they could not see the light until they had nearly reached the river. Their cry for an additional lighthouse was supported by the many shipwrecks that occurred along the Long Beach Peninsula, just north of the cape.

On February 15, 1893, Congress authorized the construction of a lighthouse on North Head. George Langford, the contractor responsible for the station’s structures, completed the dwellings, barn, and as much of the tower and two oil houses as possible without the metalwork by the spring of 1897. After the metalwork arrived, Langford finished his work on November 15, 1897.

Designed by Carl W. Leick, North Head Lighthouse consists of brick masonry built atop a sandstone foundation and finished with a cement plaster overlay. Sixty-nine steps lead to the lantern room, which is sixty-five feet from the ground and 194 feet above sea level. The first-order, Louis Sautter & Co. Fresnel lens, which was transferred from Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, was lit for the first time on May 16, 1898.

Since North Head is only two miles north of Cape Disappointment, the two lights needed distinct signatures. A fixed-white characteristic was chosen for North Head, while Cape Disappointment displayed alternating red and white flashes.

North Head is one of the windiest places in the United States, with wind velocities in excess of 100 mph being frequently measured. The U.S. Weather Bureau built a station on North Head between the lighthouse and keeper’s dwellings in 1902. On January 29, 1921, winds were clocked at 126 mph before the measuring instrument blew away. Fearing for their safety, the weather observers sought refuge in the keeper’s dwellings as they were more sturdily built. The weather station closed in 1955, and the buildings were later demolished.

North Head is the most intact light station in the Pacific Northwest. All of its original buildings remaining standing, including the tower, two oil houses, two residences, a barn, chicken coop, and garages.