The Cape Flattery Light is a historic

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

structure located at the entrance to the

Strait of Juan de Fuca The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's main outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The Canada–United States border, international boundary between Canada and the ...

near

Neah Bay Neah Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) on the Makah Reservation in Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 935 at the 2020 census. It is across the Canada–US border from British Columbia. Europeans originally called ...

Clallam County Clallam County is a List of counties in Washington, county in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 77,155, with an estimated population of 77,616 in 2023. The cou ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, within the Makah Indian Reservation. The deactivated lighthouse sits on

Tatoosh Island Tatoosh Island is a small island and small group of islands about offshore (northwest) of Cape Flattery, which is on the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. Tatoosh is the largest of a small group of islands also often ...

, which is named after Chief Tatooche of the Makah Tribe. It is the northwesternmost lighthouse on the West Coast of the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The te ...

. Although closed to the public, it can be viewed from

Cape Flattery Cape Flattery () is the northwesternmost point of the contiguous United States. It is in Clallam County, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula, where the Strait of Juan de Fuca joins the Pacific Ocean. It is also part of the Makah Reservation, a ...

via a short 30-minute walk.

History

The lighthouse was built in 1854 based on the design by Ammi B. Young. Its first light was displayed from a first-order lens in 1857 and was Washington Territory's third lighthouse. The house with a tower from the center still stands; the tower's light stands above water. A

fog signal A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. ...

building with a

steam whistle A steam whistle is a device used to produce sound in the form of a whistle using live steam, which creates, projects, and amplifies its sound by acting as a vibrating system. Operation The whistle consists of the following main parts, as s ...

was built on the island in 1872. The original first-order lens was replaced by a fourth-order lens in 1932, then with a modern optic lens in 1977. The lighthouse's light was decommissioned after a skeletal structure with a solar-powered beacon fitted with six-year solar pack batteries was built on the island in 2008. In 2009, the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

began cleanup operations in anticipation of handing the historic lighthouse to the Makah tribe, who own Tatoosh Island. After the transfer, the Coast Guard will continue to have access for purposes of maintaining the optic. On Friday, September 25, 2017 Cape Flattery Lighthouse was announced as the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s newest National Treasure. As part of the continuing work with the USCG, the National Trust hired Cardinal Architecture and SSF to assess the structural integrity of the fog signal building and lighthouse. Emergency repairs were recommended to prevent further collapse, and an extensive list of structural repairs were recommended to fully repair and restore the structures. There is currently no funding available for the USCG to undertake the repairs however.

References

External links

* {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1857 Infrastructure completed in 1872 Lighthouses in Washington (state) Ammi B. Young buildings Transportation buildings and structures in Clallam County, Washington 1857 establishments in Washington Territory