Tillamook Rock Light is a deactivated lighthouse on the Oregon Coast of the United States. It is located approximately 1.2 miles offshore from Tillamook Head, and 20 miles south of the Columbia River, situated on less than an acre of basalt rock in the Pacific Ocean. The construction of the lighthouse was commissioned in 1878 by the United States Congress and began in 1880. The construction took more than 500 days to finish and was completed in January 1881. When the lighthouse was near completion, the barque Lupatia was wrecked near the rock during inclement weather and sank, killing all 16 crew members.
The Light was officially lit on January 21, 1881. At the time, it was the most expensive West Coast lighthouse ever built. Due to the erratic weather conditions, and the dangerous commute for both keepers and suppliers, the lighthouse was nicknamed "Terrible Tilly". Over the years, severe storms have battered the lighthouse and eroded its rocky foundation.
The final entry in the keeper's logbook, written by Oswald Allick on September 1, 1957 reads as follows:
"Farewell, Tillamook Rock Light Station. An era has ended. With this final entry, and not without sentiment, I return thee to the elements. You, one of the most notorious and yet fascinating of the sea-swept sentinels in the world; long the friend of the tempest-tossed mariner. Through howling gale, thick fog and driving rain your beacon has been a star of hope and your foghorn a voice of encouragement. May the elements of nature be kind to you. For 77 years you have beamed your light across desolate acres of ocean. Keepers have come and gone; men lived and died; but you were faithful to the end. May your sunset years be good years. Your purpose is now only a symbol, but the lives you have saved and the service you have rendered are worthy of the highest respect. A protector of life and property to all, may old-timers, newcomers and travelers along the way pause from the shore in memory of your humanitarian role."
The lighthouse was eventually decommissioned and sold to private owners. Planned uses have included a private vacation home and a proposed columbarium. Currently, the lighthouse is in a state of disrepair. The lighthouse is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and is part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. It is visible from the coastal cities of Seaside, Cannon Beach, as well as from Ecola State Park.
To log this cache, simply take a picture of yourself or any GPS readout with the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse in the background. The photograph can be taken from any location, land or sea, as long as the lighthouse is visible in the background. Since this is the only requirement for logging this cache, all logs without this photograph will be removed. Good luck!
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.