Battery Point Lighthouse

History of the Battery Point Lighthouse

The harbor at Crescent City was booming during the mid-1800s due to massive redwood trees. They were being harvested and loaded onto ships to build San Francisco. The local population successfully petitioned the Government to build a lighthouse at the point. The lighthouse, a stone two-story cottage with a attached brick tower through the center roof, was built at the tip of Battery Point on some rocks jutting out of the Pacific.

Because of this location, the station was always in peril. One such event occurred in 1879. A heavy storm rolled in off the Pacific and sent a huge wave towards the lighthouse. The wave was so powerful, it knocked in the wall of the kitchen, which in turn knocked the stove over. The stove set the kitchen on fire, luckily for the keeper, another wave quickly followed and put out the fire.

Another such story of a massive wave occurred in on the night of March 27, 1964. An earthquake in Alaska sent five tidal waves down the coast. Luckily for the keepers, the way the waves broke, they missed the lighthouse. Crescent City was not spared however. Twenty nine blocks in the town were demolished by the waves. Today, the lighthouse is a museum and is opened to the public.

Directions: From Highway 101 in Crescent City, head west on Front Street and follow that to the end. Then make a left onto South A Street and follow that to the end to a parking area for the lighthouse.

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