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North Head Lighthouse.
Image taken April 19, 2005.
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North Head ...
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North Head is the end of a Columbia River Basalt lava flow which reached the Pacific Ocean. It is located two miles north of Cape Disappointment. North Head has a good view of McKenzie Head, a spot where Captain Clark set up camp on November 18, 1805. North of North Head is Beards Hollow, quite possibly the spot where Captain Lewis overlooked to view the Pacific for the first time.
Great views of the Pacific Ocean are to be had from North Head, including a spectacular view of McKenzie Head, the location of Captain Clark's campsite for November 18, 1805.
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Early North Head ...
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From the 1889 United State Coast and Geodetic Survey, Pacific Coast. Coast Pilot of
California, Oregon, and Washington. by George Davidson, Assistant U.S.
Coast and Geodetic Survey. Fourth Edition:
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"... North Head is the extreme western knob of the Cape. The seaward
face is a precipitous rocky cliff behind which is a narrow area of
grass-covered surface, and then the firs cover the higher ground which
rises to two hundred and seventy feet. This is the part of the Cape which
first rises above the horizon and it is about half a mile in extent. The
seaward cliffs are very jagged and the base bordered by small rocky
masses. This part of the Cape cuts of the arc of visibility of the Light,
and there is no doubt that for a sea-coast light the Light-house should
have been placed at this point. In its present position it was intended
to do duty for the river also.
..."
The North Head Lighthouse had not been built yet, and the "Light" referred to in the above passage is the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse.
The North Head Lighthouse was built in 1898 (see more below).
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Views ...
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Penny Postcard: Aerial view, North Head, Washington.
Penny Postcard, Real Photo, Divided Back, "North Head - Wash.", Photo by Wood, Ellis #47.
In the private collection of Lyn Topinka.
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Penny Postcard: North Head Lighthouse and Fort Canby, Washington.
Penny Postcard, Linen Card (1930s-1945), Divided Back, "North Head Lighthouse and Fort Canby, Looking Toward Long Beach, Washington".
7A-H135.
In the private collection of Lyn Topinka.
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Pacific Ocean as seen from the trail to North Head.
Image taken April 19, 2005.
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McKenzie Head from North Head.
Captain Clark and eleven of the men camped on McKenzie Head on November 18, 1805.
Image taken April 19, 2005.
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Columbia River Lighthouses ...
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Four lighthouses have been located near the mouth of the Columbia River and two more were located inland. They are the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse (1856), Point Adams Lighthouse (1875), North Head Lighthouse (1898), and the Desdemona Sands Lighthouse (1902), and inland were the Warrior Rock Lighthouse (1888), at the lower mouth of the Willamette River, and the Willamette River Lighthouse (1895), at the upper mouth of the Willamette.
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"... On a case-by-case basis Congress appropriated funds for design and construction of important facilities. These included lighthouses: Cape Arago (1866), Cape Blanco (1870), Yaquina Bay (1872), Cape Foulweather (1873), Point Adams (1875), Tillamook Rock (1881), Warrior Rock (1888) at the mouth of the Willamette River, Cape Meares (1890), Umpqua River, Heceta Head, Coquille River (all 1894), and Desdemona Sands (1905 [error ???, 1902, see below]). The goal was to create a system of stations with interlocking lights. On a clear night at sea, a mariner might expect to sight at any point a distinctive beacon on shore to pinpoint the location. Fog signals powered by steam engines blasted warnings from a number of the stations to tell captains to drop anchor or beat a retreat until the mists cleared. ..."
[Oregon State "BlueBook" website, 2006]
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North Head Lighthouse ...
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It soon became apparent that a second lighthouse at the mouth of the Columbia River was needed since ships coming from the North could not see the light from the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. The North Head Lighthouse, built two miles north of the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, went into operation on May 16, 1898.
From the 1942 "Coast Pilot":
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"...
North Head Light is shown from a white conical tower on the western point of North Head. The light is 194 feet above the water, and visible 20 miles. The light is obscured east of 181o. Near the light there is a United States Weather Bureau storm-warning display station, with telegraph and telphone to Astoria and Portland, and equiped with international code signals for reporting vessels and receiving messages. From the southward, Cape Disappointment shows as three low knobs, separated by low flat ridges. North Head Light shows on the western slope of the western knob. Cape Disappointment Light shows on the western slope of the eastern knob.
..."
The lighthouse is 65 feet tall and sits on solid basalt more than 190 feet above sea level.
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Views ...
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Penny Postcard: North Head Lighthouse, Washington.
Penny Postcard, Divided Back (1907-1915), "North Head Light House at Entrance of Columbia River", Portland Post Card Co., Portland, Ore., No.1028.
In the private collection of Lyn Topinka.
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North Head Lighthouse.
Image taken April 19, 2005.
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Light, North Head Lighthouse.
Image taken April 19, 2005.
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House, North Head Lighthouse.
Image taken April 19, 2005.
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"The Golden Age of Postcards" ...
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The early 1900s was the "Golden Age of Postcards", with the "Penny Postcard" being a popular way to send greetings to family and friends.
Today the Penny Postcard has become a snapshot of history.
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From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...
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Clark, November 19, 1805 ...
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