Cape Blanco Light House...
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The delicate Fresnel Lens is disassembled into 270 pieces for cleaning, resetting and recaulking purposes. Once completed the light will beam again out to sea some 22 miles. Hopefully it's completed when you visit.
The light houses in Oregon are under the National Register of Historical places; therefore, the restoration process must be done to the same specifications as the original plans.
First Women Light House Keeper...
The history of Cape Blanco Light House is recorded in the keeper's log. Mable Bretherton was the first women keeper arriving at the light house in 1903. To keep the light house going required a three-person crew, round-the-clock.
During the night, the crew had to haul kerosene by hand up the 64-step spiral staircase. Kerosene was the fuel for the light in the early days of the lighthouse until electricity took over. During the daylight hours the crew worked on maintaining the lighthouse and out-buildings. Constant scraping and painting was required as the Cape Blanco Light House was tortured by the elements; 120 miles per hour winds, constant salt spray, blistering sun and down-pours of rain.
Thanks to the keeper's diligent maintenance over the years, 23,000 people per year visit the Cape Blanco Light House. The light house is open for visitors between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Thursday through Monday.
Capo Blanco, or what we call Cape Blanco, has the meaning White Cape. The name came about from a Spanish sea exploration in 1602. The exploration was a disaster, many men died of scurvy along this White Cape. It was 173 years later that white men set foot on this same area marking the beginnings of the Cape Blanco Light House.
We'd love to hear about your visit to the Cape Blanco Light House, contact us.
Be sure to check out the other Oregon Light Houses.
Craig Dahl - Senior Editor
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