A Self-Sufficient Community - Yaquina Head - Newport, Oregon
Posted by: 
Volcanoguy
N 44° 40.533 W 124° 04.617
10T E 414642 N 4947473
A history sign at Yaquina Head, Newport, Oregon
Waymark Code: WMWTQ7
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 10/12/2017
Views: 2
A history sign along trail from Yaquina Head Visitor Center to Yaquina Head Lighthouse.
Text of sign:
A Self-Sufficient Community
The white-fenced area across the road was the site of a garden used by lighthouse keepers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In addition to depending on supplies arriving by ship, keepers and their families relied on ingenuity, hard work, and a community ethic. They hunted, fished, and worked together to tend a large garden and livestock. Holidays were celebrated together.
The round water tank across the road stored spring-fed water for lighthouse keepers and their families. Before the water tank, gutters gathered rainwater off the roofs of the light station buildings, then diverted the water into underground storage cisterns.
Text of image captions:
The fenced light station garden provided an important supply of fresh vegetables in this isolated location, where traveling for supplies was difficult and deliveries were infrequent.
Only the heartiest of crops could survive on such an exposed site. Keepers sometimes attached burlap bags along the fence to protect cabbage, kale, strawberries, and other garden vegetables from frequent winds. Wooden supports helped steady the fence during winter storms, when winds could exceed 100 miles per hour.
Historic Topic: Pioneer
Group Responsible for placement: BLM
Marker Type: Roadside
Region: Coast
County: Lincoln
State of Oregon Historical Marker "Beaver Board": Not listed
Web link to additional information: Not listed
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