Heceta Head Lighthouse and Keepers Quarters - Florence, Oregon - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The lighthouse (N 44° 08.241‘ W 124° 07.689‘) is a three part structure consisting of a workroom, passage way, and the tower. The tower is a conical stuccoed brick masonry structure with a 24.5 foot diameter at the ground and 15.5 foot diameter below the light at a height of 42 feet. A circular cast iron stairway provides access to the light room. The light room has sixteen sides and is glazed with rectangular panes in three tiers. The first order lens with eight bullseyes was illuminated originally by a five wick coal oil lamp to generate 80,000 candle power. The oil lamp was replaced by a gas burner in 1910, which in turn gave way to electricity. The present source of illumination is a 500 watt bulb generating a beam of 1,000,000 candle power which is visible for 21 miles.

The quarters (N 44° 08.183' W 124° 07.505' ) originally consisted of a single dwelling for the keeper and a double for two assistants. The designs were identical and provided three rooms on each of two floors, a full basement, an attic, a front porch, and a woodshed to the rear. The quarters were wood frame construction with rustic siding on the first and second floors and wood shingles above.

Construction of the Light Station began in 1892 and was completed in 1894. Masonry materials were freighted by sailing vessel from San Francisco to Florence where they were offload and hauled by wagon teams to the building site. The first order lens was installed in 1893 and was of British manufacture. This lens is rare because most U.S. Lighthouses used lens produced in Paris.

In the 1930‘s the single Keepers House was razed and the double underwent extensive modifications. The light station was automated in 1963, with the Coast Guard retaining ownership of the lighthouse and transferring ownership of the Keepers’ House to the U.S. Forest Service. The buildings were placed on the National Register on November 28, 1978. In 1999, the Coast Guard transferred ownership of the lighthouse to Oregon State Parks. In 2001, the State Parks Department began a top-to-bottom restoration of the lighthouse which was completed in 2013 leaving the lighthouse looking as it did in 1894. The Keepers House is operated as the Heceta Head Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast run by a concessionaire of the U.S. Forest Service.

Street address: U.S. 101 north of Florence Florence, OR USA 97439 County / Borough / Parish: Lane Year listed: 1978 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1875 - 1899 Historic function: Domestic, Transportation Current function: Education, Transportation Privately owned?: no Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Secondary Website 2: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   07/03/2019 kilroy18 visited it 06/12/2019 The A-Team visited it 09/30/2018 kJfishman visited it 08/22/2016 mspgenealogy visited it 07/05/2013 dkestrel visited it 05/20/2013 Volcanoguy visited it

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