The lumber industry in Mendocino brought hundreds of ships to the coast over the decades, but storms, early navigational equipment, and the rocky north coast were treacherous. Disastrous shipwrecks prompted calls for a lighthouse on the coast to protect ships, cargo and passengers making their way to and from Mendocino and the neighboring areas.
In 1873, the U.S. Lighthouse Service surveyed the Mendocino coast, but nothing came from this survey for over 30 years. The Lighthouse Service, responsible for the upkeep of all lighthouses and lightvessels in the country, was established in August, 1789, finally merging with the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939.
Petitions for a lighthouse along the coast continued until October 3, 1904, when the Lighthouse Service formally recommended a lighthouse and fog signal station at Point Cabrillo.
The following year, the U.S. Congress passed Senate Bill No. 6648, allocating $50,000 for construction of the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse. Construction plans and finances caused the plans to drag out over years, but the monumental 1906 earthquake prompted the final plans to be approved rapidly.
With San Francisco destroyed from the earthquake and the fires that followed, lumber from Mendocino played a significant role in rebuilding the city. Final approval for the lighthouse came on June 20, 1906, two months after the earthquake.
Construction began in August 1908 on 30 acres purchased from local rancher David Gordon for $3,195. Point Cabrillo was built as a light station, meaning it featured separate housing for the keepers, rather than a lighthouse, a single structure with living quarters and the lighthouse equipment.
The first structures built included the lighthouse and fog signal building, three light keeper’s houses, and a barn. The Army Corps of Engineers constructed access roads, sewers, a water system, pump house, water tower, a blacksmith shop and several storage buildings.
On June 10, 1909, the lighthouse was illuminated under the leadership of Head Light Keeper Wilhelm Baumgartner, who moved south from a post at the St. George Reed Lighthouse in Crescent City, California. Two assistant light keepers, George Bassett and Charles Below, also worked at Point Cabrillo. The team rotated shifts to ensure the light remained lit consistently.
The lighthouse featured a Fresnel lens powered by a kerosene lamp. The lens rotated with a clockwork mechanism and a 92-pound weight. Every two hours the light keeper would wind up the mechanism to keep the lens rotating.
Averee McNear is the curator at the Kelley House Museum in Mendocino, Calif.
The St. George Reef Light is not in Crescent City, which is actually near Point St. George. The light is on a rock 6 miles offshore. The lightkeeper was likely glad to move to Point Cabrillo. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George_Reef_Light.