Pescadero's Pigeon Point Lighthouse’s to celebrate its 150th year

“I think it’s going to be a really great celebration,” said Julie Barrow, a special projects coordinator for the Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park, and one of the event organizers. “We look forward to sharing the maritime history to which the lighthouse is connected. It’s a part of California history that doesn’t often get told.”

While the lighthouse has been closed to the public for more than 20 years following its opening in 1872, it is still an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation using a rotating beacon. Before the California Gold Rush, most shipping traffic stopped in Monterey Bay. The increase in people led to a considerable rise in ships coming further north and subsequent shipwrecks, going from 10 a year to 10 or so a month. The first significant wreck occurred in 1853, when the clipper ship Carrier Pigeon ran aground near the area, leading to it being called Pigeon Point in its honor. The lighthouse was one of several constructed on the West Coast after the Civil War, with construction starting in 1871 and finishing with a lighting ceremony on Nov. 15, 1872.

Most of those same conditions still apply because of underwater reefs hidden in the water, the south-to-north shipping traffic fighting against the prevailing southern winds and currents and the fog tends to obscure the coastline and sky, Barrow said.

The lighthouse is still relied upon by the local crab fishing fleet and personal fishing boats, while cargo ships still value it, although the larger ships have to stay 12 to 15 miles offshore and have navigation systems, according to Barrow. Pigeon Point’s flash pattern still produces a flash every 10 seconds, the same pattern used 100 years ago to help identify different lighthouses from one another.

The 115-foot tall structure is tied for the tallest lighthouse tower on the West Coast. Barrow said the Coast Guard tended to reuse building blueprints from the East Coast, which called for higher heights. East coast lighthouses sit on sandy shores and often needed height to see, which can often get up to 140 feet. However, Pigeon Point sits on 35-foot bluffs, giving it an extra boost.

At around 150 above sea level, sailing ships can see the light as far as 20-25 miles. The lighthouse is tied with the Point Arena lighthouse in Mendocino County for the tallest on the West Coast, which used the same blueprint as Pigeon Point. Point Arena’s original lighthouse was destroyed in a 2006 earthquake and rebuilt at the same height. Pigeon Point Lighthouse itself also has some refurbishment projects on the horizon. The state is also developing a new $18 million bid package to repair the entire tower, including the lantern room, decks, railings, the upper belt course and masonry. Once the state finalizes funding, there are hopes construction could be completed in two to three years, according to Barrow.

The free event starts at 1 p.m. with statements from California State Parks and Coastside State Parks Association Director Armando Quintero. Maritime author and historian JoAnn Semones will lead a lighthouse luminaries panel from 1:30- 2:30 p.m., the main event. Speakers include Bob Davis, great-nephew of assistant keeper Jesse Mygrants, the longest serving lighthouse keeper at Pigeon Point from 1924 to 1941; D’Ann Burns, who lost her grandmother aboard the passenger steamer San Juan in 1929 when it sunk off the coast; James Stevens, keeper from 1953 to 1954; and Jerry Jolley, the last keeper of Pigeon Point. All panelists have a personal connection to the lighthouse and have stories about its history that are unavailable elsewhere.

“This is probably the last time to hear these folk’s stories firsthand,” Barrow said.

Tours will take place while the Lighthouse String Band plays. State Sen. Josh Becker, D-San Mateo, will make remarks at 3 p.m.. There will also be a puppet show, performance by the Half Moon Bay High School Jazz Band and face painting. The original Fresnel lens from the tower will be lit in its current location in the Fog Signal Building in the evening. People can go to parks.ca.gov/?page_id=533 for more information about the event.