Dofflemeyer Point Lighthouse circa 1934 Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard

On September 27, 1865, Isaac Dofflemyer and his wife Susan filed a land grant claim for 316 acres that included the point of land on the eastern side of the entrance to Budd Inlet. This point, which Lieutenant Charles T. Wilkes of the United States Exploring Expedition had named Brown’s Point in 1841, in honor of James Brown, a carpenter’s mate for the expedition, subsequently came to be known as Dofflemeyer Point.

A lens lantern atop a twelve-foot stake was established at the point on December 13, 1887, and in 1934, this light was upgraded a notch to the present thirty-foot, pyramidal concrete tower. Unlike most lighthouses, Dofflemeyer Point was never assigned a formal keeper. Instead, local residents were contracted to care for the light and activate the fog signal.

The first keeper of the light was Leonard Sperring, who cared for the light until 1912. Edward Robinson, who lived next to the tower, took charge of the light next and served as caretaker until 1942, when Robert Robinson, his son and next-door neighbor, took over the responsibilities.

In the 1960s the light was automated by the Coast Guard, however, the fog signal still required manual activation. Around that time, Madeline Campbell, who lived in the house formerly owned by Edward Robinson, assumed responsibility for the light. If fog was expected to roll in during the night, she would set her alarm clock to wake her for a nighttime check of conditions. When Mrs. Campbell and her family would leave for a vacation, they had to find a local resident to serve as a "fog horn sitter."

Mrs. Campbell served as guardian of the tower until the fog signal was automated in 1987. Today, Coast Guard personnel aboard a buoy tender maintain the signal.

On May 1, 1995, Dofflemyer Point Lighthouse was listed on the Washington Heritage Register and was also placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

References

1. Umbrella Guide to Washington Lighthouses, Sharlene and Ted Nelson, 1990.
2. "Dofflemyer Point Lighthouse," Daryl C. McClary, HistoryLink.org.
3. Lighthouses of the Pacific, Jim Gibbs, 1986.