Umpqua River Lighthouse

During the summer of 1849, the U.S. Coast Guard Survey, headed by Alexander D. Bache, set out along the unmarked West Coast to determine the most beneficial locations for lighthouses. The Umpqua River mouth was selected as one of only six sites in the Oregon territory, which included the modern day states of Oregon and Washington.

Many thought the Umpqua River area would become a major shipping center due to its abundance of "green gold", the pristine timber rapidly being harvested. The turbulent force with which the river collided with the ocean created a great hazard for ships, and a beacon marking the spot was greatly needed.

In 1851, Congress appropriated $15,000 for the Umpqua River Lighthouse and 33 acres were set aside for the site. Work was delayed when on September 13, 1853, the supplies for the light were destroyed when the schooner "Oriole" foundered just off Cape Disappointment. Finally, in 1856, construction began.

Local Indians, who for centuries had used the area as a prime hunting and fishing ground, were none too pleased to watch the progress. Afraid of reprisal due to the close proximity of Fort Umpqua, the Indians chose to agitate the workers by constantly stealing their tools. Being greatly outnumbered, the workers never retaliated. Then one day a worker noticed his stolen sledge hammer leaning against an Indian hut. As he grabbed the tool, he was jumped by a couple of Indians. Mayhem broke out among the workers and Indians. A foreman ran to the site and lit a stick of dynamite hoping to break up the rumble. The blast so frightened the Indians that they hastily retreated. Soon the long winter storms arrived and both sides hunkered down.

On October 10, 1857, Keeper Fayette Crosby lit the third-order Fresnel lens, the first light along the Oregon Coast. The lighthouse was similar to others built at the time, a large Cape Cod duplex with a tower rising from the gabled roof, 92 feet above ground. Unfortunately, the survey crew never saw the site at flood stage, or the location may have been different. Winter storms brought swollen river banks and crashing seas. The lighthouse, built on sand, was constantly battered. A coastal gale, on February 8, 1861, along with a record mountain run off, combined to blast away at the foundation. The foundation was eroded and the house and tower tilted slightly. Another violent storm in October 1863 added even more to the damage. The keepers lived in fear that the entire structure would collapse along with them in it. They petitioned for the structure to be abandoned, and in late January 1864, they were given the go ahead. A week later, the lighting apparatus was removed, and while crews were in the process of dismantling the iron lantern house, the tower began to shake and sway. The men dropped their work and ran for their lives, and none too soon. Only minutes later, the tower came crashing down.

The Lighthouse Board replaced the lighthouse with a floating buoy, and built a new light 25 miles south at Cape Arago. With no lighthouse, maritime traffic used alternative ports, and commerce did not develop as originally hoped. The locals constantly petitioned for the lighthouse to be replaced, but their cries would be in vain for another 24 years.

Eventually, the Lighthouse Board desired the coast to be lit so that a ship would come into the light of one beacon as it passed out of the rays of another. Lighthouses at Heceta Head and Umpqua River would close the unlighted gap between Yaquina Head and Cape Arago.

In 1888, $50,000 was appropriated for the construction of the second Umpqua River lighthouse. This time, with lesson learned, it was built further inland on a headland above the mouth of the river. The site is the furthest away from a river or ocean of all the lighthouses along the Oregon coast. Construction lasted from 1891 to 1894. The new lighthouse, a sibling to Heceta Head, is a 65-foot tower which stands 165 feet above sea level. The tower, brick overlaid with cement plaster, is five feet thick at the base and tapers to 21 inches thick at the parapet.

The lighthouse station included the tower, two oil houses, two dwellings, and a barn. Construction was racked with contract disputes, and adding to the delay, when the tower was finally near completion it was discovered that the pedestal for the light was 15 inches short. The light, a first-order Fresnel lens manufactured in 1890 by Barbier & Cie of Paris, using a Funck mineral oil lamp, was lit for the first time on December 31, 1894, with a signature of two white flashes followed by a red flash.

Marinus Stream from Astoria Oregon, the first headkeeper, tragically drown only two years later. Despite the early tragedy, the Umpqua River Light became a desired assignment for lightkeepers, perhaps because the station did not have a fog signal.

The light was automated in the 1960s and several of the outbuildings were torn down. Before the light was automated, it was only lit one hour before sunset until one hour after sunrise. Curtains were drawn around the lantern room to protect the lens from the sun. When the light was automated, it was more convenient to leave it on 24 hours a day. Eventually over time, the chariot wheels, which rotated the beacon, wore out. When the Coast Guard talked of shutting off the Fresnel lens and installing a modern optic, the community rose in outrage. Hundreds of names were gathered from the surrounding communities of Gardiner, Reedsport, and Winchester Bay and the help of congressmen and senators was enlisted to keep the Fresnel light shining. Eventually, the Coast Guard relented, and the chariot wheels were fixed in 1985.

Today the Fresnel light is still shining. The lighthouse is part of the Umpqua River State Park and is managed by Douglas County Parks, who host a museum in a nearby historic Coast Guard building and conduct tours of the tower during the summer months.