|
Lighthouse History
Built: 1861 Rebuilt 1903
Type: Conical with attached
spanish style structure two story residence
Height: 30 feet
Status: Non Active
Location: Coupeville
Deactivated: 1922
Lens: Fourth Order Fresnel
Elevation: 127 feet
Keepers: William Robertson
1861-1864 / Dan Pearson 1864-1878 / Charles Daves 1900-1914 / Edward Scannell
1919 / Hans Score until 1922
Notes: In 1858 the United
States purchased 10 acres of land costing $400 for the location of the
lighthouse. The original lighthouse was completed during the months just
prior to the Civil War and was among the West's earliest navigational aids.
It had a fourth order Fresnel lens, and the light could be seen sixteen
miles away. This light welcomed Puget Sound marine traffic to Admiralty
Inlet. In 1890, with construction of the fort to protect Admiralty Inlet,
the light was relocated, relinquishing the building and site to the U.S.
Army. The original red wooden lighthouse was demolished to make room for
soldiers and guns in Fort Casey.
The second lighthouse at
Admiralty Head was built in a Spanish style and included a two-story dwelling
that was linked to the base of a circular tower of roughly the same height,
by a one-story foyer. Three bedrooms were located upstairs in the dwelling,
while the kitchen, dining room, and a living room were downstairs. The
lighthouse was activated on June 25, 1903. During its later occupancy by
the Army, the lighthouse was used as a training facility for the K-9 dog
program.
By the early 1920s, the
bulk of marine traffic was powered by steam rather than wind, permitting
the modern vessels to hug the western side of the inlet. The Admiralty
Head Lighthouse was thus no longer of consequence, and the light was extinguished
in 1922 after just nineteen years of service. In 1927, the lantern room
was removed and placed atop the newly reconstructed tower of the New Dungeness
Lighthouse.
The Admiralty Head Lighthouse
was vacant until World War II, when Fort Casey was reactivated. The lighthouse
was painted olive drab and was used as living quarters. Following the war,
the lighthouse again stood empty for a time before the Island County Historical
Society initiated a restoration effort. The lighthouse was painted, and
a replacement lantern room was built for the tower using vertical astragals
rather than the more complex diagonal ones found in the original.
Today the lighthouse is
a gift shop and a museum. |