Point Sur Lightstation State Historic Park
Encyclopedia
The Point Sur Lightstation State Historic Park is located on the Big Sur
coastline of Monterey County, 19 miles (30.6 km) south of Rio Road in Carmel
. It is both a California state park and on the National Register of Historic Places.
in 1875, it was determined that a lightstation was needed in this remote area.
Point Sur Lightstation opened on August 1, 1889. This very remote station was required to be self-sufficient, as most supplies had to be brought in by ship. Lighthouse employees and their families had their own vegetable gardens. Children stayed with local ranchers during the week in order to attend school, returning home on weekends, or stayed with distant relatives. In 1927, a schoolteacher was assigned to Point Sur Lightstation to teach the six children who resided there.Easy access to the lightstation came in 1937, when Highway One through Big Sur was completed. In the 1940s, children from Point Sur Lightstation were assimilated into Big Sur's larger school.
The Lighthouse Service was absorbed into the Coast Guard in 1939, and Point Sur Lightstation became the property of the Coast Guard. Point Sur Lightstation was automated in the late 1960s, and in 1974 ceased to have a light keeper.
The coast off Point Sur Lightstation was the location of the sinking of the United States Navy
airship
.
's only complete turn-of-the-century lighthouse
open to the public. (The nearby Point Piños Light is also open to the public, but is significantly older.) Walking tours are held year-round on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays, and also on Thursdays during July and August. Tours are first-come, first-served; visitors are advised to arrive a half hour before the tour.
Big Sur
Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the Central Coast of California where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The name "Big Sur" is derived from the original Spanish-language "el sur grande", meaning "the big south", or from "el país grande del sur", "the big...
coastline of Monterey County, 19 miles (30.6 km) south of Rio Road in Carmel
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Carmel-by-the-Sea, often called simply Carmel, is a small city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated in 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, the town is known for its natural scenery and rich artistic history...
. It is both a California state park and on the National Register of Historic Places.
History
Point Sur was a notorious hazard to navigation, and the site of many shipwrecks. After the sinking of the USS VenturaUSS Resaca (1865)
USS Resaca was a third-class screw steamer of the United States Navy. Built at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Maine at a cost of $201,229.19, the ship was launched on 18 November 1865, and commissioned in 1866, Comdr. J. M...
in 1875, it was determined that a lightstation was needed in this remote area.
Point Sur Lightstation opened on August 1, 1889. This very remote station was required to be self-sufficient, as most supplies had to be brought in by ship. Lighthouse employees and their families had their own vegetable gardens. Children stayed with local ranchers during the week in order to attend school, returning home on weekends, or stayed with distant relatives. In 1927, a schoolteacher was assigned to Point Sur Lightstation to teach the six children who resided there.Easy access to the lightstation came in 1937, when Highway One through Big Sur was completed. In the 1940s, children from Point Sur Lightstation were assimilated into Big Sur's larger school.
The Lighthouse Service was absorbed into the Coast Guard in 1939, and Point Sur Lightstation became the property of the Coast Guard. Point Sur Lightstation was automated in the late 1960s, and in 1974 ceased to have a light keeper.
The coast off Point Sur Lightstation was the location of the sinking of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
airship
Airship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
.
Tourism
It has CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
's only complete turn-of-the-century lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
open to the public. (The nearby Point Piños Light is also open to the public, but is significantly older.) Walking tours are held year-round on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays, and also on Thursdays during July and August. Tours are first-come, first-served; visitors are advised to arrive a half hour before the tour.