Trinidad Head Light
Trinidad Head Lighthouse is a historic lighthouse in Trinidad, California. It is north of Eureka, California, built in 1871. History. The low, square, brick tower, painted white, was built in 1871. The light is only above ground, but the headland on which it stands gives it an elevation of above the sea. Despite the great height above the sea, heavy seas have been known to reach it. A huge wave hit the lighthouse at about 4:40pm local time on the afternoon of 31 December 1913. In 1914, the keeper made the following report: 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 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. Complaints from the citizens of Trinidad Head were so vocal that the Coast Guard installed 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: