Cape Arago Lighthouse
by Joan Carroll
Title
Cape Arago Lighthouse
Artist
Joan Carroll
Medium
Photograph - Digital Photograph
Description
You know I hated to only view a lighthouse from afar and not be able to walk all around it. But that was the case at Cape Arago Lighthouse in Oregon. There used to be a wood bridge to access the light, which is actually on an island although it doesn't appear so from this angle. But it was removed after the lighthouse was decommissioned in order to prevent unauthorized access to the island and to return the shoreline to a more natural condition. The Cape Arago Light (formerly known as Cape Gregory Light) is located in Charleston, Oregon 2.6 miles (4.2 km) north of Cape Arago. As with most other lighthouses, this one has gone through several transformations in its life since 1866 when the first light was lit. This is the third tower on this location dating from 1934. Containing the second light's fourth-order lens, this tower was made from concrete to better withstand the inclement weather of the area. In 1966, the light was automated. Eventually, in 1993, the Fresnel lens was replaced with a modern lens. The light remained a beacon into Coos Bay for the next 12 years, until its decommissioning on January 1, 2006. In 2007, Senator Gordon Smith submitted a provision as part of the Coast Guard Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 that would transfer Cape Arago Lighthouse to the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians. This bill was not approved, but in 2008 Representative Peter DeFazio sponsored a bill covering just the transfer of Cape Arago, and this was passed by the House and Senate in September, and signed by President Bush on October 8, 2008. According to the legislation, the tribes must make the Light Station available to the general public for educational, park, recreational, cultural, or historic preservation purposes at times and under conditions determined to be reasonable by the Secretary of the Interior. In preparation for turning the lighthouse over to the Confederated Tribes in 2013, the Coast Guard patched damaged concrete walls, removed mold and corroded metal, and painted the structure, both inside and out, in November 2012. In addition, the high bridge leading to the lighthouse was removed in order to prevent unauthorized access to the island and to return the shoreline to a more natural condition. During a ceremony held on August 3, 2013, Captain Mark Reynolds, Commander of Coast Guard Sector North Bend, signed over approximately twenty-four acres of land including Gregory Point and Chief�s Island where the lighthouse stands to the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians.
FEATURED PHOTO, Beauty group, 7/10/14
Uploaded
July 8th, 2014
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Viewed 2,997 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/17/2024 at 10:31 PM
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