Though the grounds of Point Cabrillo were surveyed as a potential site for a lighthouse in 1873, it wasn’t until 1904 that the U.S. Lighthouse Service recommended that a light be placed on the point. Of course, it took many shipwrecks along the coast to influence that decision. Point Cabrillo began official operations in 1909, with Wilhelm Baumgartner as its first light keeper.
In 1939, the United States Coast Guard took over the Lighthouse Service and continued to man the grounds until 1973, when the lens was covered and a modern rotating beach was mounted on a metal stand on the roof west of the lantern room. Afterwards, the grounds were left to time.
The California Coastal Conservancy had begun buying up land surrounding the light station by 1988, and in ’91, the station was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Due to budget shortfalls, California State Parks declined to take over the land, so for a while, a non-profit organization called the North Coast Interpretive Association (NCIA) managed the station and adjacent grounds.
NCIA organized a major restoration of the station in the mid-1990s, with the goal of restoring the lighthouse to the state it would have been in the ‘30s. After being upgraded to meet modern standards, the original third-order Fresnel lens was reinstalled in 1999. And in August of 2001, the light station was opened to the public.
Since then, California State Parks purchased the grounds, the NCIA became the Point Cabrillo Light Keeper Association and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary operationally maintains the light itself.
The grounds and the lighthouse are definitely a Mendocino County gem. Deer roam. Birds chirp. They soar, too. Whales breach offshore. Flowers bloom. Seals bask. Pacific waves crest over ancient reef. Squirrels play. A place, of peace and tranquility. Good for the soul.
