page_title: Tillamook Rock Light
section_title: Construction
hierarchical_section_title: Tillamook Rock Light / Construction
caption_attribution_description: English: Tillamook Rock Light: First Order L. H. Tillamook Rock, Oregon. Plate 3. Perspective view from the north east, showing the station in process of construction. Sea at lowest stage, and very quiet. Illus. in: Annual Report of the U.S. Light-House Board, 1881, pl. 3.
context_page_description: Tillamook Rock Light is a deactivated lighthouse on the Oregon Coast of the United States. It is located approximately 1.2 miles offshore from Tillamook Head, and 20 miles south of the mouth of the Columbia River, situated on less than an acre of basalt rock in the Pacific Ocean. The construction of the lighthouse was commissioned in 1878 by the United States Congress, and began in 1880. The construction took more than 500 days to finish, with its completion in January 1881. In early January 1881, when the lighthouse was near completion, the barque Lupatia was wrecked near the rock during inclement weather and sank, killing all 16 crew members.
  The Light was officially lit on January 21, 1881. At the time, it was the most expensive West Coast lighthouse ever built. Due to the erratic weather conditions, and the dangerous commute for both keepers and suppliers, the lighthouse was nicknamed "Terrible Tilly". Over the years, storms have damaged the lighthouse, shattered the lens, and eroded the rock. It was decommissioned in 1957, and has since been sold to private owners. Until its license was revoked in 1999, it functioned as a columbarium, and today remains privately owned.
context_section_description: In 1878, the United States Congress appropriated $50,000 for a lighthouse to be built on Tillamook Head; however, after a survey was conducted, it was determined that due to the approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) height of the Head, the light would be obstructed by fog, and the Tillamook rock was selected as the alternative site for the construction. A survey of the rock was ordered in 1879, which was headed by H. S. Wheeler and his cutter Thomas Corwin. Wheeler's initial assessment determined that access to the rock was severely limited, if not impossible, but was ordered to continue. During his second assessment, he was able to land on the rock, but was unable to move his survey equipment without the use of a tape line. He then relayed that the rock would need considerable blasting to create a level area in order lay down a foundation for the lighthouse, and that more money was going to be needed to complete the project.
  In September 1879, a third survey was ordered, this time headed by John Trewavas, whose experience included the Wolf Rock lighthouse in England.  Trewavas was overtaken by large swells and was swept into the sea while attempting a landing, and his body was never recovered. His replacement, Charles A. Ballantyne, had a difficult assignment recruiting workers due to the widespread negative reaction to Trewavas' death, and a general desire by the public to end the project. Ballantyne was eventually able to secure a group of quarrymen who knew nothing of the tragedy, and was able to resume work on the rock. Transportation to and from the rock involved the use of a derrick line attached with a breeches buoy, and in May 1880, they were able to completely blast the top of the rock to allow the construction of the lighthouse's foundation.  
  The structure of lighthouse included an attached keeper's quarters and a 62-foot (19 m) tower that originally housed a first-order Fresnel lens, with an incandescent oil vapor lamp, 133 feet (41 m) above sea level. The light had a visibility range of 18 miles (29 km), and was fixed with a steam foghorn. It is located on less than an acre of basalt in the Pacific Ocean, 20 miles (32 km) south of the Columbia River, approximately 1.2 miles (1.9 km) off Tillamook Head, and is the northernmost lighthouse along the Oregon coast. The construction lasted more than 500 days by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the leadership of George Lewis Gillespie, Jr. The cost of $125,000, at the time (equivalent to $3.31 million today), was the most expensive West Coast lighthouse ever built, later surpassed by the St. George Reef Light off the northern California coast.
caption: Illustration of the lighthouse under construction
exif: {}