Point Conception Light Station
About this property
Point Conception Light is a lighthouse in Santa Barbara County, California, on Point Conception at the west entrance of the Santa Barbara Channel, California. One of the earliest California lighthouses, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places on the Gaviota Coast. Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailed along the California coast in search for glory and gold. On October 18, 1542, he encountered heavy winds upon rounding the Point and was forced to turn back to San Miguel Island where he died. Second-in-command Bartolomé Ferrer took charge and again tried to round the Point but he was also unsuccessful. The Point was named Punta de la Limpia Concepcion by Sebastián Vizcaíno in 1602, who was the next Spanish sailor to venture the Pacific waters along the California coast after Juan Cabrillo. The 1835 experience of the sailing ship Pilgrim, which was damaged and nearly capsized in a sudden change of weather here, is typical of boaters even today. It was here at Point Conception in 1856, that the lighthouse was built high on the sandstone cliffs, above the location of the present lighthouse. The first order Fresnel lens and steel tower for the lighthouse were made in France at a cost of $65,068 and was transported around Cape Horn. A report indicates that the lighthouse was severely damaged during the Fort Tejon earthquake of January 9, 1857. The lighthouse was moved in 1881 because the fog would be less likely to obscure the light, and was rebuilt from the top of the bluff to a mesa halfway down, 133 feet (41 m) above the Pacific Ocean. The light station was automated by the United States Coast Guard in 1973. The lighthouse was used as the location for the film The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959), and has appeared on two Toad the Wet Sprocket music videos: Come Back Down (Pale) and Walk on the Ocean (Fear). In recent years Vandenberg Air Force Base restricts access from the northwest, and the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve restricts access from the adjoining land although a few people have reached the lighthouse by hiking west along the narrow rugged public beach several miles from the nearest road during low tide. Vandenberg Space Force base now has ownership of the land and the lighthouse. Shipwrecks, Smugglers and Maritime Mysteries, by Wheeler & Kallman, 1986 Inventory of Historic Light Stations - California Lighthouses - Point Conception Light Archived 2006-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Point Conception Light Station
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Questions about this property
When was Point Conception Light Station listed on the National Register?
Point Conception Light Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 25, 1981.
What type of historic resource is Point Conception Light Station?
Point Conception Light Station is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Point Conception Light Station?
The period of significance for Point Conception Light Station is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Point Conception Light Station?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Point Conception Light Station will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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