Thirty miles west of San Francisco is found a collection of small, rocky islands. Discovered by Spaniards, the islands were given the name Los Farallones, which means small, pointed isles, but the name has since been Americanized to Farallon Islands. The largest and tallest of the islands is Southeast Farallon Island, which rises to a height of 358 feet, and it was atop this island that Farallon Island Lighthouse was constructed.

Farallon Island Lighthouse circa 1878 Photograph courtesy New York Public Library

Like most of the early California lighthouses, this light was to be of the Cape Cod design, with the tower protruding through the roof of the keeper’s dwelling. However, due to the narrowness of the island’s summit, only a tower was placed atop the peak, while the keepers’ quarters were built on a large plateau on the eastern side of the island using rock quarried on the island.

Major Hartman Bache, who took charge of lighthouses on the West Coast in 1855, visited the Farallon Islands on July 5 of that year and found that the recently completed hill-top tower was too small to house a first-order Fresnel lens and would have to be torn down and rebuilt on a nearby site that could accommodate a larger tower. In his report to the Lighthouse Board, Bache noted the difficulty workers encountered in scaling the rocky pinnacle which for two-thirds of its elevation had a slope that was great than forty-five degrees:

Few, if any, unaccustomed to the ascent, can make it by the use of the feet alone—the hands must be brought into requisition, and even then a false step might precipitate the climber, by a series of pitches, to a depth of nearly, if not quite, 200 feet. The bricks used in the present structure were transported on men’s backs by fours and fives at a time, and then only for the portion of least acclivity, a windlass being employed to raise them the remainder of the height.

A path was carved out to facilitate construction of the new tower and transportation to the summit of the seventy-three cases that contained the lens and lantern room. After workers staged a sit-down strike, a seasick mule named Jack was brought to the island to help pack supplies up the steep slope.

Farallon Island Lighthouse was lit for the first time on January 1, 1856 by Head Keeper Nerva N. Wines and Assistant John W. Wines, who, respectively were paid annual salaries of $1,000 and $650. The lighthouse was the sixth lighthouse to be activated on the West Coast. Jack the mule remained on the island for eighteen years to help carry oil and supplies up to the lighthouse.

Even with the light, in 1858, the ship Lucas foundered on the island during dense fog, prompting the call for the establishment of a fog signal. Hartman Bache, who had supervised the construction of the lighthouse, returned to the island and proceeded to build a novel fog signal. Intrigued by a large blowhole, Bache harnessed this natural source of forced air, by placing a whistle atop a chimney constructed over the blowhole. Unfortunately, the high surf needed to power the signal did not always coincide with the periods of dense fog. In 1875, a powerful storm produced a strong surge that blew the chimney off its foundation and ended the days of the ingenious fog signal.

On September 20, 1880, a more predictable steam siren commenced service on the island. The siren was converted from steam to oil in 1907, and in 1918 an air diaphone replaced the steam siren. Much to the dismay of the island’s residents, the boisterous fog signal was typically in operation around 1,000 hours a year, or roughly eleven percent of the time.

Island in 1929 with lighthouse, three dwellings, and fog signal Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard

To provide water for the steam fog signal, a concrete water shed was built on a slope west of the fog-signal house to catch rainwater and direct it into cisterns. As large holes were being blasted in the rocky island to make room for the cisterns, several veins of mineral water were encountered that made lining the cistern with brick difficult. It was first thought that the water could be pumped out while the bricks were laid, but the water was found to contain sulfuric acid that would ate away the mortar. The bricks thus had to be taken out so a costly drain could be cut through solid rock from the bottom of the cistern to the nearest bluff.

A Victorian duplex had been built on the island in 1878, and an identical one was added in 1880 to provide improved accommodations for the island’s four resident keepers and their families.

Life on the islands was difficult. To provide drinking water, a large cistern was built to catch rainwater collected from the roofs of the dwellings. As a storm approached, the keepers would scramble up on the roofs to remove the bird guano and salt residue that would contaminate the water. At various times, trees were planted to spruce up the island, but few of them survived for long in the harsh conditions. Strong gales would pick up small pieces of granite on the island and sandblast the buildings, requiring gallons and gallons of touch-up paint.

On Christmas Day, 1898, Royal Beeman, the eleven-year-old son of Keeper William Beeman became gravely ill. By the next day, it was clear the child was not suffering from simply too much Christmas dinner. Royal’s mother, Wilhelmina, recalled: “He was in constant pain, moaning and crying pitifully until I could hardly stand it.” A violent storm had been lashing the island for days, but since no supply vessel was scheduled for some time, Royal’s parents decided the only chance for the boy’s survival was to attempt to get him to a hospital in San Francisco aboard the station’s fourteen-foot rowboat that had been rigged with a homemade sail. Royal was wrapped in blankets and oilskins and placed in the bottom of the boat. Assistant Keeper Louis Engelbrecht volunteered to accompany Royal’s parents, and the two-month-old, still-nursing Isabel Beeman was the fifth passenger in the tiny ship.

Wilhelmina gave the following description of the passage: “A rain squall came up and rain drops as big as ten-cent pieces beat down on us…then the rain changed to hail, and the hailstones clattered down on us as if someone were shoveling pebbles. The sea washed in on us several times and we were all shivering and wet.” Eight hours after leaving the island, they reached the San Francisco Lightship, and a pilot boat rushed the company to San Francisco. Despite the heroic trek and the best efforts of a team of doctors, Royal passed away on January 3rd.

Farallon Island Lighthouse in 1957 Photograph courtesy Coast Guard Museum Northwest

The station’s first-order Henry-Lepaute Fresnel lens had eight flash panels and revolved once every eight minutes to produce a brilliant white flash each minute. A clockwork mechanism powered by a suspended weight that had to be wound up every four-and-a-half hours caused the lens to slowly revolve atop eight chariot wheels. By 1918, irregularities in the track over which the wheels ran caused the slowly moving lens to occasionally stop, so a nine-pound balance wheel was connected to the clockwork mechanism to give it enough kinetic energy to keep the lens turning.

John Kunder served two stints as head keeper on the Farallons, and there were times when he didn’t leave the island for four years straight! With no churches, stores, telephones, or electric lights, the isolated community was living in a different era than those on the mainland. This changed when a radio receiver was installed at the naval radio station. “It is our godsend, our light,” said Keeper Kunder in 1929, referring to the radio. “Time was when we were just as isolated from San Francisco as if we lived 3,000 miles from shore. …We had to rely on weekly visitors for all our news. Never heard music, baseball, football and the like. Now we know everything, just as if we lived right in San Francisco.” Prior to the radio, opening mail every week or so was a highly anticipated event.

Even radio wouldn’t have solved the problem Assistant Keeper Benjamin O. Cameron had on the island in 1900 – that of finding a wife. To rectify this, he sent out a letter to numerous eligible women that somehow made it into the San Francisco Call. He wrote, “I am 5 feet 8 inches tall and weigh 142 pounds. Hair was coal black, but now, at the age of 45, it is turning a little gray. Very expressive eyes, black beard trimmed to a point, also black mustache. Health good. Sound in body and limb. At the present time I have employed by the United States Government as a lighthouse keeper at a salary of $600 a year…I am very particular and neat about the three rooms that I occupy. You will never see any dirty clothes thrown in a corner or dirt swept under the stove or bed, out of sight.” Cameron left the Farallons a few months after his letter writing campaign – perhaps to get married or perhaps to conduct his search for a bride in person.

In 1902, the Weather Bureau established a radio station on the island to relay meteorological data to the mainland. Realizing the prime location of the islands for monitoring ship traffic, the Navy also came to the island and set up a radio station in 1913. In 1939, the Coast Guard took over the lighthouse, and when World War II started just a few years later, the population on the island grew to over seventy. After the war, the Navy left the island, but the Coast Guard maintained a presence until 1972. A plaque affixed to the workroom adjacent to the tower notes that the lighthouse was reconstructed in 1969. By that time, the top of the tower and the Fresnel lens had been removed, and an automated aero beacon was placed atop the shortened tower.

Farallon Island Lighthouse Photograph courtesy San Francisco Public Library

The Farallon Islands have long been a haven for several species of wildlife, which, for various reasons, have always attracted man to the islands. During the early 1800s, Russian and Aleutian seal hunters established a camp on the island where they harvested hundreds of thousands of seals for their fur and meat. By the mid-1800s, the seal population had been reduced to the point that the venture was no longer profitable, and the hunters left the islands. About this time, the population of San Francisco experienced a growth spurt due to the influx of gold seekers, and a few entrepreneurial men set out from San Francisco to again exploit the wildlife on the Farallons. This time the plan was to collect the eggs of the murre, a small seabird, and sell them back in San Francisco as a food source. A dozen of the eggs, which reportedly taste quite similar to chicken eggs, could fetch over a dollar. This enterprise proved quite profitable, and egg pickers were found traversing the island in search of eggs during the egg-laying season, which ran from May to July. Competition for the eggs was fierce, and in 1863 two men were killed in an armed conflict between rival groups, which has become known as the Egg War.

Some lighthouse keepers, trying to enhance their meager earnings, moonlighted as egg pickers on their own account, which added to the struggle over the eggs. Keeper Amos Clift penned the following to his brother in October 1859: “The egg season is in the months of May and June, and the profits of the Company after all expenses are paid, is every year from five to six thousand dollars. Quite an item. And if this Island is Government property, I have a right to these eggs and I am bound to try and get it.” The next June, Clift wrote, “We are now in the midst of the egg season, and the Egg Company and the Light Keepers are at war.” An armed group of eggers soon tried to force the keepers from the island, assaulting an assistant keeper in the process. Keeper Clift was removed shortly thereafter by the Lighthouse Service for trying to monopolize “the valuable privilege of collecting eggs.” Clift probably didn’t miss the island too much as the previous year he had written, “I’m getting awful tired of this loneliness; it is almost as bad as the state prison.” In 1881, the government declared sole-ownership of the island, evicted the egg company, and made egg collecting illegal.

In 1950, census taker Helen Mabbott traveled to Farallon Island where she made $2.31 for counting the island's thirty residents - seven cents a head and seven cents for each of the island's three dwellings. Even with a free trip provided by the Coast Guard, Helen lost $2.88 on the outing after paying for a new pair of nylons, a new hairdo, and a cleaner’s bill for her coat. If that weren’t enough, she suffered two bouts of seasickness and had to climb to the top of the island to interview a coastguardsman at the lighthouse.

Farallon Island Lighthouse was automated on September 1, 1972, but Coast Guard personnel remained on the island for three months to ensure the automated light functioned properly.

Today, the wildlife on the Farallons attracts a friendlier group of visitors to the islands. Resident researchers, who occupy one of the keepers’ dwellings, study the bird life on the island, while others man a lookout at the lighthouse and boats offshore to study and observe the great white sharks and giant blue whales that frequent the waters. Since the island lacks a good harbor, a large crane is used to launch a small boat to retrieve visiting biologists brought to the island aboard larger vessels. Just getting out to these remote islands is adventure enough, but couple that with a crane ride and one would have quite the journal entry.

Keepers:

• Head: James Powers (1854 – 1855), Nerva N. Wines (1855 – 1859), Amos Clift (1859 – 1860), Jacob Decker (1860 – 1861), Thomas Tasker (1861 – 1871), James McCumber (1871 – 1873), Stephen H. Morse (1873 – 1874), Edward K. Barnum (1874 – 1878), William Windsor (1878 – 1880), Wyman C. Partlow (1880 – 1881), Andrew W. Livingston (1881 – 1883), Thomas Owen (1883 – 1886), William H. Rugg (1886 – 1887), Henry W. Young (1887 – 1890), William A. Beeman (1890 – 1900), Cyrus J. Cain (1901 – 1905), Charles S. Kaneen (1905), Henry Rosendale (1905 – 1914), John Kunder (1914 – 1920), George Cottingham (at least 1921), John Kunder (at least 1924 – at least 1930), Frank W. Ritchie (1931 – 1936), Oliver R. Berg (at least 1937 – 1940), James C. Moore (1942 – 1945).
• First Assistant: John W. Wines (1855 – 1857), John W. Maynard (1859), John H.P. Watson (1859 – 1862), C.R. Fisher (1862 – 1869), Frank Roper (1869 – 1871), James Hurst (1871), Stephen H. Morse (1871 – 1873), Edward K. Barnum (1873 – 1874), Charles H. Lund (1875 – 1876), William Windsor (1876 – 1878), Henry J. Hess (1878 – 1880), John Webb (1880 – 1883), William H. Rugg (1883 – 1886), Walter Young (1886 – 1887), Henry W. Young (1887), Rasmus O. Berge (1887 – 1888), Thomas F. Ryan (1888 – 1889), William A. Beeman (1889 – 1890), Richard A. Weiss (1890), Richard H. Williams (1890 – 1891), Cyrus J. Cain (1891 – 1901), William J. Smith (1901), Edwin F. Gunter (1901 – 1903), Charles S. Kaneen (1903 – 1905), Wilhelm Baumgartner (1905 – 1907), Arthur W. Pooley (1907 – 1908), Charles A. Byerling (1908 – 1909), Martin F. Rasmussen (1909 – 1910), Edwin F. Gunter (1910 – at least 1915), George Cottingham (at least 1917), Henry H. Wiesenhaven ( – 1918), Charles R. Hedberg (1918), Emory Vradenburg (1919 – 1920), Wallace Evans (1921 – 1922), James H. Murray (at least 1924), Anton Trittinger (1926 – 1928), Thomas A. Atkinson (1928 – 1931), Leslie Richardson (1938 – 1940), Norman E. Johnson (1940 – 1941), Andrews C. Platt (1941 – 1942).
• Second Assistant: Robert F. Ware (1856 – 1857), John W. Maynard (1857 – 1859), John H.P. Watson (1859), D. McMillan (1859 – 1862), Arthur Tasker (1862 – 1871), W.C. Dolla (1871 – 1872), Charles Stevens (1872), Edward K. Barnum (1872 – 1873),Charles H. Lund (1873 – 1875), Henry J. Hess (1875 – 1876), Charles F. Kildahl (1876 – 1877), Henry J. Hess (1877 – 1878), Joseph M. Page (1878 – 1881), Robert W. Mateer (1881), Stephen Watts (1881 – 1882), Richard A. Weiss (1882), William H. Rugg (1882 – 1883), David R. Splaine (1883 – 1886),Walter Young (1886), James M. Pierce (1886), Rasmus O. Berge (1886 – 1887), Thomas F. Ryan (1887 – 1888), Edwin G. Chamberlin, Jr. (1888 – 1889), William A. Beeman (1889), Martin J. Van Berger (1889 – 1890), Richard H. Williams (1890 – 1891), Cyrus J. Cain (1891), Thomas L. Winthar (1891 – 1893), Richard H. Williams (1893 – 1896), Edward P. Cashin (1896 – 1901), Charles S. Kaneen (1901 – 1903), Thomas L. Winthar (1903 – 1906), Arthur W. Pooley (1906 – 1907), Egbert V. Rogers (1907), J. Lee Palmer (1907 – 1908), Martin F. Rasmussen (1908 – 1909), James Hewston (1909), Zif J. Haskell (1909), Willard D. Miller (1910 – 1911), John F. Parker (1912 – 1915), George Cottingham (1915), Otto Niehaus, Jr. (1915 – ), Joseph R. Marhoffer (at least 1916), Lambert R. Willard (at least 1917), Charles R. Hedberg (1918), Fred C. Saunders (1918), Emory Vradenburg (1918 – 1919), Lucius H. Deason (at least 1919 – 1920), Wallace J.A. Atkins (1920), George F. Thomas (at least 1921), Wallace Evans (1921), Raymond M. Logan (at least 1924), Anton Trittinger (1926), Earl Snodgrass (1926 – 1928), Thomas A. Atkinson (1928), James M. Johnson (1928 – 1931), Max Schlederer (at least 1930), Laurence E.T. Sheffield (1931 – 1932), Herman J. Pfleghaar (1934 – 1936), Leslie Richardson (1937 – 1938), Paul F. Fielding (1938), Norman E. Johnson (1938 – 1940), James C. Moore (1940 – 1942).
• Third Assistant: George C. Collins (1856 – 1857), Robert D. Reen (1857), Joseph Goldsmith (1857 – 1858), Lorenzo Green (1858 – 1859), D. McWilliam (1859), J.R. Simmons (1859 – 1860), W.B. Decker (1860 – 1862), John Wolf (1862), C.M. Underwood (1862 – 1863), John Bell (1863 – 1870), John T. Wright (1870 – 1872), Charles H. Lund (1872 – 1873), Robert W. Mateer (1880 – 1881), Stephen Watts (1881), Emanuel Johnson (1881), Richard A. Weiss (1881 – 1882), David R. Splaine (1882 – 1883), Philip Savage (1883 – 1884), Walter Young (1884 – 1886), James M. Pierce (1886), Rasmus O. Berge (1886), Thomas T. Ryan (1886 – 1887), Edwin G. Chamberlin, Jr. (1887 – 1888), William F. Hull (1888 – 1889), William A. Beeman (1889 ), Tony Schmoll (1889), Ora A. Newhall (1889 – 1890), Richard A. Weiss (1890), Richard H. Williams (1890), Cyrus J. Cain (1890 – 1891), Thomas L. Winthar (1891), Edward P. Cashin (1891 – 1895), James M. Gore (1895 – 1896), Louis Engelbrecht (1896 – 1899), Benjamin O. Cameron (1899 – 1900), Samuel R. Samuels (1900 – 1902), Adolph Ahlin (1902), Oscar Newlin (1902 – 1903), John B. Mergen (1903 – 1904), Edw. Thomas (1904), Charles C. Bruehl (1904), Thomas C. Grogan (1904 – 1905), William P.D. Holmes (1905), Thomas C. Grogan (1905 – 1906), Egbert V. Rogers (1906 – 1907), Carl L. Winthar (1907 – 1908), Jen Mikkelsen (1908 – 1909), Zif J. Haskell (1909), Willard D. Miller (1909), Robert W. Hanson (1910 – 1911), John F. Parker (1911), Philip Hughes (1912 – ), Winfield S. Williams (at least 1913), Otto Niehaus, Jr. ( – 1915), Harold J. Wright (1915 – ), Edward Johnson (1916 – ), Harry G. Sherwood (at least 1917), Fred C. Saunders (1917 – 1918), Charles R. Hedberg (1918), Emory Vradenburg (1918), Alfred Cedergren (at least 1919), George E. Taylor (1920), Wallace J.A. Atkins (1920), Wallace Evans (1920 – 1921), Grant Heter (1921), Henry B. Williams (at least 1921), Roy L. Murphy (at least 1924), Anton Trittinger (1925 – 1926), Earl Snodgrass (1926), Thomas A. Atkinson (1926 – 1928), James M. Johnson (1928), Laurence E.T. Sheffield (1928 – 1931), George B. Willson (1931 – 1932), John James (1934 – 1935), Lilburn D. Titus (1936), Leslie Richardson (1936 – 1937), Norman E. Johnson (1937 – 1938), James C. Moore (1939 – 1940).

References

1. Annual Report of the Lighthouse Board, various years.
2. The Farallones, Sentinel Publications.
3. The Farallon Islands, Sentinels of The Golden Gate, Peter White, 1995.
4. The Devil’s Teeth, Susan Casey, 2005.
5. Lighthouses of the Pacific, Jim Gibbs, 1986.

The Farallon Islands are part of the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge and landing is restricted. The lighthouse can be seen from whale watching and wildlife tours offered by the Oceanic Society. Trips typically run on Saturdays and Sundays and select Fridays from late May through November and depart from the San Francisco Yacht Harbor/Marina Green, near Fort Mason. Call (415) 256-9604 to make reservations. Trips for divers and observers focused on the islands’ Great White Sharks are offered by Great White Adventures.

The Fresnel lens from the Farallon Lighthouse is on display at the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park Visitor Center. The California Academy of Sciences operates a webcam on the island.

The lighthouse is owned by the Coast Guard, while the island is part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Farallon National Wildlife Refuge. Grounds/dwellings/tower closed.

Find the closest hotels to Farallon Island Lighthouse

Kraig writes:

Although these rocky islands are light in color naturally, they receive a continual white washing from various species of wildlife. The resulting smell is almost overpowering, and coupled with a long boat ride makes it difficult to consume even the best of brown bag lunches.

The opportunity to see blue whales is an added bonus during the trip to the Farallon Islands. Watching earth's largest animals surface for air was an incredible experience. Their backs seem to go on forever as they rise to the surface.

The islands are also known for the great whites that feed in the surrounding waters each fall. Susan Casey's book, "The Devil's Teeth," is a great way to learn about the island and the great white research conducted there.

William T. Matlock served on the island for eighteen months starting in 1967 and provided the following description of the station: “The island was quite the experience. No cars, no telephones – just the noise of a lot of birds during mating season and the sound of the waves. It was a wonderful, peaceful life out there. In the history of the island they speak of the Russian fishermen using the island as a rest stop, but they didn’t say anything about them bringing rabbits and putting them on the island as a fresh food supply and something besides fish to eat. When I got there, it amazed me the number of rabbits out there. When I was out there we had foghorns, radio beacon tower and transmitter. Twenty-three times a minute it broadcast the Morris code letter F: dot dot dash dot. The radio tower was 160 feet tall, and we had a electronic tech stationed to take care of it. There was always 4 of us on the island at all times. I was the engineman. I took care of the power house where we had three 60 kw generators. We also had three air compressors. The compressors operated the foghorn, and air was what powered the boom at the lower end of the island. We had an 18-ft inboard boat which every two weeks we would launch to retrieve food supplies and other supplies from a ship out of San Francisco. Most of the time it was a buoy tender, either the Red Birch or the Willow. That was all depending on the weather, if we got anything or not. By the way, the nickname for the boom house was Disneyland. The boat had a steel bar that run from bow to stern and off of the bar you had a 1 ½ in cable that come up to form a V with a big round eye in it to hook on the boom. Then when hooked you would be lifted up about 75 feet, brought in, and set down on the rock. Coming up in the cove where you did all of that you would have to time the waves going in. Most of the time, they come in sets of threes. There was a rough set and normally a calm set but every once in a while you would have a rogue wave and it could be has high as 15 to 16 ft. Never did you want to get caught in that. Got a long story to tell about that but will save for later. If you look at an old picture of the rock, going from west to the east, you will see two houses, a power house, workshop, and a boom shack. Running from the house to the boom shack, we had a small rail road with a small cart we could push on it. If we had to change out a generator or something heavy, that was how we got it from the boom shack to the power house. From the ship, we would receive diesel fuel and fresh water. We had a major covered swimming pool which held 160,000 gallons of water - just joking we didn’t swim in it. That was our fresh water supply. I would pump the water from the pool up too four 10,000 tanks on the side of the hill that that was located below the light house facing east. Then it was a gravity feed to the houses. So in total, if we were full up, we had 200,000 gallons on hand. Diesel fuel tanks were located south of the power house and we had two 10,000 gallon tanks. The small boat would drag the hoses for the fuel and water from the ship to the island, and we would hook them up to the connections on the island. That is how we received it as the ship pumped it. Up on the hill behind the houses, we had another 10,000 gallon tank and it was full of salt water. That was a gravity-fed water source for firefighting if needed.”

Marilyn writes:

This is a once in a lifetime trip -- meaning that you do not need to make it more than once. I was excited to go and am not normally seasick from boating, but the trip was nauseating to say the least with a 30 mile boat ride one way in high waves. Our boat was very large, but several people on our boat were seasick including myself who gagged a couple hundred of times. The highlight was definitely the opportunity to see blue whales in abundance. You must truly love lighthouses to make this trip. Even the Coast Guard people told us that they helicopter out there if they can.