Explore The Scenic Cape Blanco Lighthouse

Towering above the westernmost point in Oregon is the Cape Blanco Lighthouse. The lighthouse is just 6 miles north of Port Orford off U.S. 101.

The lighthouse is the oldest within the boundaries of Oregon and was first activated in 1870 and continues to serve to the present day.

A lighthouse was authorized for construction in 1867 because the offshore reef and islands were dangerous to shipping. They purchased the land from John D. and Mary West.

Building a lighthouse in a remote area presented a number of problems for the builders. The biggest problem was getting the materials to the location.
Supplies were brought in by ship and landed on the nearby beach. Other supplies were brought overland.

The weather caused a lot of hardships for the people trying to deliver supplies. It slowed the construction of the lighthouse because of this.

The most expensive part was the shipping of the bricks. Bricks were cheaper if they could be fired on site, so a neighbor, Patrick Hughes, sold rights to harvest the necessary ingredients for bricks from his land.

cape blanco lens They hired a brick maker to produce the bricks but the product that he produced was inferior quality so they hired another brick maker.

A first order Fresnel, fixed lens was ordered from the Henry LePautre in Paris France and iron stairs were ordered fabricated and shipped to the cape.

Finally on December 20, 1870 the lighthouse was complete and lit for the first time.

The Lighthouse Holds Four Records.

The Cape Blanco Lighthouse is the highest above the sea (245 feet).
It is the oldest continuously operating light
the most westerly in Oregon
In 1903 the first Oregon's woman keeper, Mabel E. Bretherton, signed on.

Lighthouse Keepers

H. B. Burnap was the lighthouse’s first keeper, and when Mable E. Bretherton took the job in 1903, she was the first woman lighthouse keeper in Oregon. The most notable light keeper was James Langlois. He held the job for 42 years and farmed 500 acres nearby and has a community along highway 101 named after him.

The other notable light keeper was James Hughes. He was promoted to head keeper after Langlois retired. He was at the lighthouse for 38 years. Around 1900 the lighthouse quarters were getting pretty crowded. Additional housing was requested but mainly ignored.

James Hughes found his own solution before the government responded. James owned land across the Sixes River from his father. He constructed a home for his family and commuted to his duties at the lighthouse.

Life On The Cape

Life was very difficult on the cape. There are constant high winds during the spring and summer. In the winter there are severe winter storms. Sometimes the wind was so strong that they had to crawl on their hands and knees to get from the lighthouse to the living quarters. The weather kept them busy with continual repairs and painting.

The Cape Blanco Lighthouse is 256 feet above the Pacific Ocean and is the highest of any lighthouse in Oregon. The 59-foot lighthouse tower sits atop a 200-foot cliff. It is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Oregon Coast.

Cape Blanco Lighthouse is operated by:

Bureau of Land Management, Oregon State Parks, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and the Coquille Indians and in 2004 Curry County Government and The Friends of Cape Blanco were added as partners
Visitor Hours: 10:00 AM - 3:30 PM Closed Mondays
April through October

Fresnel Lens

The Cape Blanco Lighthouse also has the distinction of being the only lighthouse on the Oregon Coast with an operational Fresnel lens that allows visitors into the lens room.

Construction Cost

The initial construction cost of nearly $100,00 was money well spent in insuring the safety of ships for almost 130 years.

The light still shines to protect shipping and lives from the Cape’s treacherous offshore reef and coastal rocks.

Coast Wildlife

There is abundant wildlife to observe around the cape. You can see, deer, fox, elk, falcons, ducks and songbirds.

The breaches on both sides of the cape offer a great selection of ocean life and hidden coves.

oregon coast wildlife

Remember, Let The Waves Tickle Your Toes.

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