Pacific Grove: The Chautauqua Years /Hazards of the Rocky Shores

C.W.J. Johnson photo from the Museum's Tuttle Collection, #21.1-100-B.

The Point Pinos Lighthouse is older than Pacific Grove, operating continuously since February 1, 1855. 2005 marks the sesquicentennial of its operation. The third order Fresnel light's source was originally a whale-oil lantern. Later, lard oil and kerosene were used, until an electric light source was installed in 1915. At the time this image of the back of the lighthouse was taken, Allen Luce was the lighthouse keeper, c. 1891. Another prominent keeper was Emily Fish, who served from 1893-1914.

Pacific Grove Heritage Society plaque for the Point Pinos Lighthouse (from the Museum’s collection).

These green plaques can be seen on houses throughout town that meet age and condition
requirements. The plaques include the name of the first owner of record and the year the property
was first assessed, and the information comes from official tax records.

The Point Pinos Lighthouse is maintained as an historical museum, and is open for public visits.
See the official Point Pinos website for details.

Westward is Point Pinos, with the lighthouse in a wilderness of sand,
where you will find the lightkeeper playing the piano, making models and
bows and arrows, studying dawn and sunrise in amateur oil-painting, and with
a dozen other elegant pursuits and interests to surprise his brave, old-country rivals.

--Robert Louis Stevenson's description of his 1879 visit to the
Point Pinos Lighthouse and keeper Allen Luce in The Old Pacific Capital.

A Few Point Pinos Area Shipwrecks

(see corresponding numbered photos below)

The Rhoderick Dhu, wrecked at Moss Beach, 3:30 a.m., April 26, 1909.
From the Museum's Lighthouse Collection, #897.

The Frank Buck, wrecked at Point Pinos (36° 38N / 121° 55W), 9:00 p.m., May 3, 1924.
The Associated Oil Company tanker was empty when it grounded, and was refloated on May 17, 1924.
On March 6, 1937, she collided with the President Coolidge in San Francisco Bay, coming to rest near her
sister ship, the Lyman Stewart, which had met a similar end on October 7, 1922.
From the Museum's Lighthouse Collection, #920.

The Celia, wrecked at Point Joe, 11:30 p.m., August 28, 1906.
From the Museum's Lighthouse Collection, #936.

The Gipsy, wrecked at McAbee Beach, Monterey (near the foot of
Hoffman Street & Cannery Row) about 8:00 p.m., September 27, 1905.
From the Museum's Lighthouse Collection, #907 (6/154).

The Saint Paul, wrecked at Point Joe, 11:15 p.m., August 8, 1896,
wrecked offshore of the Chinese fishing village at the point.
From the Museum's Lighthouse Collection, #928.

Thanks to Lighthouse Historian Jerry McCaffery for information derived from his book, Lighthouse: Point Pinos, Pacific Grove, California (2001).

Page created August 24, 2005. Last updated September 13, 2005.
Page copyright 2005 by the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History.
Photos from this online exhibit may not be used without permission of the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History.