Trinidad Head Light

Trinidad Head Light

File:TrinidadLighthouse.jpg
Location	Trinidad, California
Coordinates
Year first constructed	1866
Year first lit	1871
Automated	1974
Foundation	Stone
Construction	Brick
Tower shape	Square Pyramidal
Height	25 feet (7.6 m)
Focal height	196 feet (60 m)
Original lens	Fourth order Fresnel lens (1898)
Current lens	14.8 inches (375 mm) optic
Range	14 nautical miles (26 km; 16 mi)
Characteristic	Occulting white, 4s
Fog signal	Original, bell Current, Horn, 1 every 30 sec
Admiralty number	G4408
ARLHS number	USA-855
USCG number	6-0525
Trinidad Head Light Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
File:USCGtrinidadhead.JPG
Nearest city	Trinidad, California
Area	20 acres (8.1 ha)
Architectural style	Other, Lighthouse
MPS	Light Stations of California MPS
NRHP Reference #	91001098
Added to NRHP	September 3, 1991

Trinidad Head Lighthouse is an historic lighthouse in Trinidad, California. It is 20 miles (32 km) north of Eureka, California, built in 1871.

History

The low, square, brick tower, painted white, was built in 1871. The light is only 20 feet (6.1 m) above ground, but the headland on which it stands gives it an elevation of 196 feet (60 m) above the sea. Despite the great height above the sea, heavy seas have been known to reach it. In 1914, the keeper made the following report:

"At 4:40 p. m. I observed a sea of unusual height. When it struck the bluff the jar was very heavy. The lens immediately stopped revolving. The sea shot up the face of the bluff and over it, until the solid sea seemed to me to be on a level with where I stood in the lantern. The sea itself fell over onto the top of the bluff and struck the tower about on a level with the balcony. The whole point between the tower and the bluff was buried in water."

The wave he described was the highest recorded wave on the coast. After the sea struck the lighthouse and extinguished the light, service was restored in four hours by Lightkeeper F.L. Harrington, the keeper from 1888 to 1916.

Buildings and structures

The station originally consisted of the small two-story light tower, a single Victorian residence, and a small barn. In 1898, a bell house was constructed and a 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg) bell was added that was operated by weights. A second keeper was assigned at that time and the quarters were expanded to accommodate two families. In 1947 the fog signal changed to an air horn. In 1949, the Trinidad Civic Club constructed a facsimile of the tower in a park overlooking the harbor and installed the original lens in its structure as a memorial to those lost or buried at sea. The 4,000 pound bell is displayed alongside the tower. In the late 1960s, the Coast Guard razed the original dwelling and barn and constructed the present triplex. The fog signal was discontinued when the station was automated in 1974. However, the complaints from the citizens of Trinidad Head were so vocal that the Coast Guard was forced to install the present ELG 300, operated by a fog detector. The new fog signal is operated in the original bell house. The original tower remains essentially unchanged.

National Register listing

The lighthouse was listed as Trinidad Head Light Station on the National Register of Historic Places on September 3, 1991, reference number 91001098, The 1900 fog-signal building is a contributing building and the 1871 lighthouse tower is listed as a contributing structure. The 1969 keeper's building which replaced the original keeper's residence, is non-contributing to the listing.

See also

Other historic lighthouses in Humboldt County:

• Punta Gorda Light
• Cape Mendocino Light
• Table Bluff Light