The Admiralty Head Light is a deactivated aid to

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

located on

Whidbey Island Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, Island County, Washington (state), Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington stat ...

near Coupeville,

Island County, Washington Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 86,857. Its county seat is Coupeville, while its largest city is Oak Harbor. The county's name reflects the fact that it is compo ...

, on the grounds of Fort Casey State Park. The restored lighthouse overlooks

Admiralty Inlet Admiralty Inlet is a strait in the U.S. state of Washington connecting the eastern end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Puget Sound. It lies between Whidbey Island and the northeastern part of the Olympic Peninsula. Boundaries It is generall ...

. It was the companion to the Point Wilson Light, which sits four miles away on Admiralty Inlet's western shore.

History

Two lighthouses have been built on Admiralty Head. Only the second remains. Admiralty Head, the east entrance point of Admiralty Inlet, is the southeast extremity of a succession of bluffs extending northward along the western shore of Whidbey Island to

Point Partridge Point Partridge () is the most westerly point of Whidbey Island, the largest island in Puget Sound. The point lies north of the Fort Ebey military reservation and south of West Beach. The primary importance of Point Partridge is as the northern ...

, where the bluffs attain their highest elevation. ;Original lighthouse In 1858, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

purchased on the headland for $400. The original lighthouse was a wooden, two-story house with tower projecting from the gable. It was completed in 1861. It had a fourth order

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens (optics), lens which reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections. The simpler Dioptrics, d ...

, which was visible at . In 1890, construction of Fort Casey forced the relocation of the lighthouse to a spot close to the site of the present lighthouse. It was demolished in 1928. ;Present lighthouse A second, lighthouse, constructed of

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

and

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

, was built in 1903. The design by Carl Leick incorporated thick walls meant to withstand earthquakes and the concussion of Fort Casey's guns. The lighthouse was deactivated in 1922, and the lantern moved to the

New Dungeness Light The New Dungeness Lighthouse is a functioning aid to navigation on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, located on the Dungeness Spit in the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge near Sequim, Clallam County, in the U.S. state of Washington. It has been in ...

house in 1927. During its later occupancy by the Army, the lighthouse was used as a training facility for the K-9 dog program. In 1990, the

U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

issued a 25-cent stamp featuring the Admiralty Head Light. ;Restoration The lighthouse has been restored by

Washington State Parks The U.S. state of Washington has over 140 state parks that are managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. These include 19 marine parks and 11 Historical Parks. The park system was established in 1913 by the creation of the ...

and is sponsored by the Lighthouse Environmental Program (LEP), a collaborative function between

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

's Extension Office and local environmental programs. In 2012, an historically accurate reconstruction of the lantern house was installed atop the tower. The work was done by student volunteers from three Whidbey Island high schools.

References

External links

Admiralty Head Lighthouse
Seattle and Sound
Admiralty Head Lighthouse
Keepers of Admiralty Head Lighthouse

Washington Lighthouses
Looking into the Admiralty Head Lighthouse
Washington State Magazine {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1903 Houses completed in 1903 Lighthouses in Washington (state) Transportation buildings and structures in Island County, Washington