Point No Point Lighthouse, Washington
Limited Edition
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History of Point No Point Lighthouse, Washington
In 1841, US Navy Lt. Charles Wilkes began the exploration of Puget Sound and from his ship named a small piece of land, barely visible, Point No Point.
Three local Indian Tribes, the S’kallum, Chimacum and the Skokomish had settled this small parcel of land. In 1855 they came together on the site to sign the Point No Point Treaty with Territorial Gov. Isaac Stevens ending the Indian Wars.
In the 1850’s and 60’s lighthouses were being built along the coast of Washington state. The Puget Sound, the destination of many vessels, was still without a single Light.
Point No Point had presented mariners with many obstacles and shipwrecks became commonplace.
While the US government had appropriated funds to build a Light, there was a problem securing the necessary parcel of land from one Francis James, owner of the Point. James, a former Keeper at Cape Flattery, had earned a reputation as a fighter having engaged a fellow Keeper in a gunfight. Finally, in April 1879, James agreed to sell forty acres on the Point for $1,000.00
Construction began immediately but there were problems. The Lighthouse Board was determined to have the new lighthouse operational by year’s end and while construction was on time the lens and glass for the lantern room had not arrived. The first Keeper, John Maggs a Seattle dentist, hung a kerosene lantern in the tower on January 1, 1880. A Fifth Order Fresnel Lens arrived on January 10, 1880 with the glass panes following on February 1st. Point No Point was then fully operational.
In 1900 the fog bell was replaced by a Daboll Trumpet. The lens in the tower was later upgraded to a Fourth Order Lens in 1915 and is still in place today.
The Lighthouse was automated in 1977 and declared surplus by the United States Coast Guard in 1999. A long-term lease for management of the property was granted to Kitsap County.