Part 8

The new structure was 170 feet in height and the lantern was equipped with a first-order lens, the lamp having five concentric wicks. A steam siren fog signal was also established. An incandescent oil-vapor lamp, burning kerosene vapor, replaced the wick lamp in 1912. This increased the intrinsic brilliancy, but decreased the area lit. The candlepower, however, was increased from 6,000 to 22,000. The candlepower has now been increased to 80,000 for the white light, with 16,000-candlepower red sector covering the shoals outside the cape and the middle ground inside the bay. The light is 164 feet above water and visible 19 miles. This station is also equipped with a diaphone fog signal and a radiobeacon. (1) (2)

_WASHINGTON_ CAPE FLATTERY LIGHTHOUSE

Off shore, on Tatoosh Island.

Cape Flattery Lighthouse was built in 1857, but only after great difficulties with the Indians. Before commencing the lighthouse, it was necessary to build a blockhouse, and 20 muskets with ammunition were furnished for protection against Indians from the Canadian side of the Strait. Shortly after the light was completed the keeper resigned because he was annoyed by the numerous Indians who used the island as a fishing and whaling station. Cape Flattery Lighthouse is now electrified, and is fitted with a diaphone fog signal and a radiobeacon.

The light can be seen for 19 miles and is 165 feet above water. (1) (2)

SOURCES

(1) Inspection Reports by Army, Navy, Revenue Cutter Officers and Special Agents of the Treasury Department—The National Archives, Washington, D. C.

(2) Annual Reports of the Lighthouse Board—1852-1910.

(3) Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States (1917 and 1933).

By George R. Putnam—Houghton-Mifflin Co. (by permission).

(4) Sentinel of the Coasts (1937).

By George R. Putnam—W. W. Norton Co., Inc., New York (by permission).

(5) Famous New England Lighthouses (1945).

By Edward Rowe Snow—The Yankee Publishing Co., 72 Broad Street, Boston, Mass. (by permission).

(6) Lighthouses of the Maine Coast (1935).

By R. T. Sterling—Stephen Daye Press, Brattleboro, Vt. (by permission).

(7) The Lighthouse Service—Its History, Activities, and Organization (1926).

By George Weiss—The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, Md.

(8) Cape Florida Lighthouse. A paper presented to a joint meeting of the South Florida Historical Association and the Florida Historical Society at Miami in April 1949 by Lt. Comdr. Charles M. Brookfield, USCGR.

★ U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1972 0—463-008

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

U.S. COAST GUARD Public Information Division Washington, D.C. 20590

Transcriber’s Notes

--Silently corrected a few palpable typos.

--Retained publication information from the printed copy: this is public domain in the U.S.

--In the text versions, italicized words are _delimited by underscores_.

--Illustrations are not captioned, since they are all photographs of the lighthouse being described.