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Adjacent to the town, the Coquille River empties into the Pacific Ocean. The river extends inland a great distance, and was a natural link to the virgin stands of timber in the area. The bar at the mouth of the river, formed by the interaction of the river and ocean, was a major obstacle for the ships entering the river. At times, only a few feet of water would cover the bar, but still vessels attempted to navigate the river in hopes of reaping the rewards that lay upstream. In 1880, Congress passed a bill providing for the construction of a jetty on the south side of the river’s entrance. The jetty created a clear channel in the river, prompting a rapid rise in the number of ships entering the river.

A Coquille River Lighthouse was the next logical step for improving navigation at the river’s mouth. The lighthouse would act as both a coastal light and a harbor light. A bill authorizing its construction was passed in 1891, but it would be four years before land was purchased, plans were solidified, and the construction crew arrived on site.

The workers first leveled the top of Rackleff Rock to provide a base for the lighthouse and oil house. Local stone was cut to form the structure’s foundation, while the lighthouse itself was built of brick, covered with a layer of stucco. The design was unique with a cylindrical tower attached to the east side of an elongated, octagonal room, which housed the fog signal equipment and had a large trumpet protruding from its western wall.

A long, wooden walkway connected the lighthouse to the keepers’ dwelling, 650 feet away. The dwelling was a one-and-one-half story duplex, and a barn was located 150 feet beyond the dwelling. Two keepers, both transferred in from Heceta Head, took up residence at the new station during the first part of 1896. The fourth-order Fresnel lens was first shown from the tower on February 29, 1896. A snowstorm settled in the next day, necessitating the first use of the fog signal.

Coquille River Lighthouse with dwelling

In the late 1910s, Oscar Langlois became a keeper at the lighthouse. He was born at the Cape Blanco Lighthouse, where his father was serving as principal keeper. Choosing the same career for himself, Oscar accepted his first assignment to the Cape Arago Lighthouse in 1905. There, he met his wife, Marie Amundsen, daughter of the principal keeper.

During Langlois’ lengthy service at the Coquille River Lighthouse, a forest fire swept into Bandon in 1936 and consumed all but sixteen of the towns’ 500 buildings. The lighthouse, separated from the fire by a water barrier, was not damaged. However, ash and soot found its way into the lighthouse requiring extra work from the keepers, who also provided shelter for some of the now homeless residents of Bandon.

In 1939, the Coast Guard took responsibility for the lighthouse and decided it was no longer needed. An automated beacon was placed at the end of the south jetty, the dwelling was disassembled, and the lighthouse was abandoned. The Bandon Lighthouse stood neglected for twenty-four years, until Bullards Beach State Park was created on the north side of the river. The grounds of the original 11-acre light station were included in the park, and the park assumed responsibility for the lighthouse.

The damage inflicted on the lighthouse by time and vandals was too much for the park system to reverse by itself. A joint restoration effort involving Oregon State Parks and the Army Corps of Engineers was launched in 1976. The roof was repaired, bricks were replaced, and the lighthouse received a fresh coat of paint before it was opened to the public.

As part of the Bandon centennial celebration in 1991, a solar-powered light was placed in the tower. The lighthouse is further illuminated in December, when it is decorated with festive lights.

Violent winter storms deposit piles of drift wood on the beach near the lighthouse and have eaten away at the lighthouse’s foundation. To correct this problem, a restoration effort, costing over $600,000, was carried out during the summer of 2007. The project included removing damaged stucco, repainting the exterior, replacing the roof, adding a false chimney, and repairing copper flashing. The colors used to paint the lighthouse were reportedly found on some older layers of stucco, but some locals strongly oppose the new color scheme and insist that white is the historically accurate color.

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References

1. Umbrella Guide to Oregon Lighthouses, Sharlene and Ted Nelson, 1994.
2. Lighthouses of the Pacific, Jim Gibbs, 1986.

The tower and interior of the Coquille River Lighthouse are open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in May and October. From June through September, the hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.