Cape Mendocino Light, Shelter Cover, California
CAPE MENDOCINO LIGHT (OLD)
Lighthouse Name: Cape Mendocino Light
Location: California Coast at Cape Mendocino, now at Shelter Cove near Point Delgado, CA
Station Established: 1868
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1868
Operational? No
Automated? Yes, 1951
Deactivated: 1970s
Foundation Materials: Concrete
Construction Materials: Cast Iron
Tower Shape: Pyramidal 16-sided
Markings/Pattern: White
Relationship to Other Structure: Separate
Original Lens: First Order Fresnel
Historical Information:
- The light at Cape Mendocino was activated on December 1, 1868.
- The 43 foot tower was one of the highest in the U.S. at 422 feet above sea level.
- The light was automated in 1951 and then abandoned in the 1970’s. The first order Fresnel lens was moved in 1948 to Ferndale, California where it sits in a replica tower at the entrance of the Humboldt County Fairgrounds.
- In 1998 a group of volunteers dismantled the lighthouse and reassembled it in Mal Coombs Park in Shelter Cove, California.
The above was researched and drafted by Melissa Buckler, a Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Light House Society volunteer.