Enjoying the Sunset on Point Sur California

The cows that live on the farm surrounding Point Sur Lighthouse on the California Coast have some of the best sunsets in the world. Like this one! 

This is the Point Sur State Historic Park, next to the Point Sur Naval Facility.  This old lighthouse sits on the coast at Point Sur, California, 135 miles (217 km) south of San Francisco, on the 361-foot (110 m)-tall rock at the head of the point. It was first established in 1889 and is now part of Point Sur State Historic Park.  

The light house is 40 feet (12 m) tall and 270 feet (82 m) above sea  level. As of 2016, and for the foreseeable future the light is still in  operation as an essential aid to navigation. The lighthouse is part of  Point Sur State Historic Park and is the only complete turn-of-the-20th-century lighthouse open to the public in California.

Point Sur was a deadly hazard for ships traveling too and from the first settlements in California, and especially after the huge increase in shipping in the  mid-19th century that accompanied the discovery of gold which led to the California Gold Rush. 

Many ships were wrecked on the rocky coast around Point Sur. In 1875, the ship Ventura ran onto rocks just north of Point Sur, and many people died. Though the Ventura's captain was drunk, the absence of a light contributed to this tragedy. The board of the United States Lighthouse Service  (USLS) stated in 1874 that “Point Sur is the most important point and  should be the site of a lighthouse. 

In considering the various points on  the California coast where lighthouses are still required, Point Sur  claims the place of greatest importance." The board repeated this  recommendation, and California citizens submitted petitions in support.  In 1885, the board stated that "this dangerous point, which is still  unlighted, is made subject of much complaint." Finally, in 1886, Congress appropriated $50,000 for construction of a lighthouse at Point Sur, and another $50,000 in 1887. 

Twenty-five men were tasked with building the lighthouse and adjacent buildings. It was an arduous process because there was no way to even reach the remote site. So first they carved out a road from the mainland to the rock, then blasted a trail to the top of the rock where the lighthouse would be stationed, quarried stone, and built a  tramway from the shore to the peak. And remember this was in the 1880's so heavy construction equipment was not available.

By the end of the first year, all  the rock had been quarried and prepared and construction of a number of buildings was happening. The Lighthouse Board hoped the construction would be completed  by the end of 1888, but an additional $10,000 was needed before the  light station was completed and the lantern lit on August 1, 1889.  (Point Sur is technically a light station, as opposed to a lighthouse, because it consists of multiple buildings.) 

Life on Point Sur was very isolated. The only road, which led to Monterey,  was long and often dangerous. The keepers received goods and bulk  supplies by boat roughly every four months. A “lighthouse tender”  brought the supplies, but to get them ashore, the supplies were  transferred to skiffs and floated to land in barrels. 

The staff of the station consisted of a head lighthouse keeper and three assistant lighthouse keepers. Their families lived with them at the  station.  The lighthouse keepers and their families lived in isolation at Point Sur. Therefore, the station included all facilities needed for them to  be self-sustaining. 

There was a cistern which held 53,000 US gallons  (200,627 l) of water (later replaced by a water tower), and a pump house which brought up water from a well in the sand flats at the base of the rocks. There was a barn, where horses and cattle were kept. 

The carpenter  and blacksmith shop held supplies for the keepers to do their own  construction, since Monterey was a full day's trip away until the 1930s.  The lamp tower, oil room, and fog signal room were all combined into  one building because of limited space. 

So this is an old long used cattle pasture with a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean. 

Yehaw....