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Slip Point, WA |
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Description:
By 1865, three lighthouses had been constructed along the American side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, however, a gap of over 60 miles still existed between the lights at Cape Flattery and Ediz Hook. Near the center of this gap lay Clallam Bay with its small fishing villages. Slip Point forms the eastern side of Clallam Bay, and a small shelf located at its northern end was selected as the site for a fog signal and light. A landslip on the face of the point, which gave rise to the point's name, had often been used as a landmark for mariners during daylight hours. Now, thanks to a $12,500 appropriation by Congress in 1900, the point would also help mariners traverse this previously dark gap at night.
Local labor was used to construct the station. A fine keepers' dwelling and a single story frame fog signal building, with a Daboll trumpet protruding through its seaward wall, were completed, but then the lack of sufficient funds prevented the construction of a light tower. Instead, a lens-lantern mounted on the fog signal building served as the light. Hans Score, Slip Point's first keeper, lit the lamp for the first time on April 1, 1905.
The keepers' residence was located along the eastern side of Clallam Bay. To service the light and fog signal, a keeper had to skirt around the side of the point by walking along an elevated, wooden catwalk. During violent storms, it must have been a harrowing experience to walk the catwalk with the waves churning just below your feet. The Slip Point Lighthouse was replaced in 1951 by a beacon and fog signal on a fifty-foot white tower. The original fog signal building and attached tower were subsequently dismantled and much of the lumber was hauled away by local citizens. The station was fully automated in 1977, and the keepers' duplex has since been shared by the Clallam Bay County Sheriff's Department and Coast Guard Personnel. In 2001, legislation was approved by the House of Representatives transferring 23.6 acres of the Slip Point Lightstation to the local community for inclusion in Clallam Bay Spit County Park. Public officials of Clallam County have launched an effort to gather historic photos and blueprints of the original lighthouse that could be used in building an accurate replica. The modern beacon along with the catwalk on top of the cement footings was removed around 2000.
References
Location: Located in Clallam Bay on the Strait of San Juan de Fuca. Latitude: 48.2645 Longitude: -124.251 For a larger map of Slip Point Lighthouse, click the lighthouse in the above map or get a map from: Mapquest. Travel Instructions: From Highway 101 on the Olympic Peninsula, take Highway 113 north to Highway 112. Follow Highway 112 west into Clallam Bay. In Clallam Bay, turn right onto Frontier Street. Frontier Street will turn into Salt Air Street near the beach where you will find the keeper's dwelling. The lighthouse was located north of the keeper's quarter along the beach. The dwelling is owned by Clallam County. Grounds open, dwelling closed. Find the closest hotels to Slip Point Lighthouse See our List of Lighthouses in Washington |
