Cape Blanco Lighthouse

Cape Blanco was naAguilar in 1603. He named the cape for its steep white med by the Spanish Captain Martin de cliffs. The cape lies roughly 60 miles north of the Oregon-California border, just north of Port Orford. The western-most point of Oregon juts into the Pacific in a location plagued by heavy winter rains and summer fog. Lighthouse Service engineer R.S. Williamson reported that rain at the cape was "equalled at only two other points in the United States where records are kept." Winds at the Cape have been measured at 100 miles per hour. Weather and geography made Cape Blanco a likely candidate for a lighthouse. A light was first proposed in 1864. Work began on the lighthouse in 1868. Building supplies arrived aboard the schooner Bunkalation in May 1870. The vessel was not fully unloaded when it was beached in a storm. The remaining supplies were lost, and not replaced until July 1870. The 59-tower and dwelling were completed in December 1870. The tower housed a $20,000 first-order Fresnel lens. At 245 feet above sea level, the light is the highest on the Oregon Coast. Despite the construction of the lighthouse, wrecks continued to occur at Cape Blanco. The passenger steamer Alaskan was lost in 1889 with at least 31 of its passengers and crew. In 1903, the steamer South Portland was lost. The captain of the vessel was found to be negligent for leaving on the first lifeboat, despite one comment in the inquiry that the chief mate had requested the captain lead the first lifeboat. In 1919 the oil tanker J. A. Chanslor was lost - 36 crewmen died and 30,000 barrels of oil spilled. Cape Blanco was isolated and difficult to access. Until a road was constructed in 1886, the only access was by the hazardous southern beach, or the beach road to Port Orford which was accessible only at low tide and crossed quicksand. For these reasons Cape Blanco was not a popular assignment for most keepers. Two keepers who succeeded in making Cape Blanco their home were James Langlois and James Hughes. Langlois served for 42 years at Cape Blanco, starting in 1875 as assistant keeper to Charles Peirce (formerly of Yaquina Bay light). When Peirce left in 1883, Langlois was promoted to principal keeper. It is said that he never set foot in any lighthouse other than Cape Blanco. He retired in 1918. James Hughes arrived in 1888 as first assistant and stayed at the lighthouse for 38 years.  His parents, Patrick and Jane Hughes, ran a thriving dairy business at Cape Blanco. Their Victorian home still stands. When living quarters at the station became too cramped for the Langlois family and the Hughes family, Hughes bought his own dairy ranch nearby. Hughes tended to both the lighthouse and the ranch. A second residence at the station was eventually built in 1909.
In 1936, the first-order lens was replaced by a second-order lens crafted by Henry Lapaute. The original residences were replaced by more functional Coast Guard housing. The light was eventually automated and most of the surrounding structures removed. In 1992, the lens was a victim of vandalism. Two local teenagers broke into the tower and smashed several of the prisms. The Coast Guard looked nationwide for someone to repair the lens, and settled on Hardin Optical in nearby Bandon. Despite difficulty in finding glass matching the characteristics of the original, the lens was successfully restored in 1994. In 2002-2003, the Cape Blanco lighthouse underwent a thorough restoration. The tower was restored in keeping with the original specifications. The lens was removed and restored by Hardin Optical, Inc. of Bandon, OR. Scaffolding was placed around the tower, and the old paint removed. The masonry was repaired. The brick mortar was analyzed in order to use the identical composition for repairs. The roof was replaced, and the pinnacle and vent ball restored. The interior and exterior were repainted. The light was officially re-opened on August 22, 2003 and is open for tours 10am - 3:30pm everyday except Monday.