Umpqua River Lighthouse
Celebrates 116 years with a party
Photo by Alex Powers
The Friends of Umpqua River Light are planning for an impressive display of local lighthouse memorabilia and photographs as part of the 116th birthday celebration for the lighthouse Sept. 24-25.
‘It is our intent to raise public consciousness about the sentinel that has protected our shores for years, and in the process, to preserve our cultural heritage by forming partnerships for the continued maintenance and preservation of the Umpqua River Lighthouse,” said Jim Akre, a member of both the Friends and the advisory board for the museum.
The celebration will include a symposium with presentations and speakers — including lampist and lighthouse historian Jim Woodward and other historians and mariners. Also on hand will be local, state and national experts on lighthouse legends and lore, shipwrecks, the U.S. Life Saving Service and the Coast Guard.
Organizers also are planning for lighthouse and museum tours, plein air artist workshops, family scavenger hunts and the announcement of the winners of this summer’s lighthouse photography contest.
The Umpqua River Lighthouse — the first built on the Oregon Coast — was erected near the mouth of the Umpqua River in 1857. It was undermined by a February 1861 flood, and weakened further by another flood in October 1863. Its equipment was removed and it was decommissioned two months later. In February 1864, the structure fell into the river and was destroyed.
The lighthouse was rebuilt in its current location, 165 feet above sea level on a headland south of Winchester Bay, between 1891 and 1894. Its two-ton, first-order Fresnel lens is made up of 616 prisms manufactured by Barbier & Cie in Paris, France. It was purchased in 1890 and put into service on Dec. 31, 1894, with its signature two white flashes followed by one red flash.
Oil lamps served to illuminate the lens until 1934, when it was changed over to electricity.
The electric motor that turned the lens broke down in 1983, and only a loud public outcry prevented the Coast Guard from replacing the entire Fresnel lens at that time.
A fundraising buffet dinner at the Winchester Bay Community Center will wrap up the two-day celebration on Saturday night.
For more information on the lens, the lighthouse or on joining the Friends of Umpqua River Light, visit friendsofumpquariverlight.weebly.com.
By Lori Newman
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