Heceta Head Lighthouse celebrates 125 years of illuminating the Oregon coast

Steven Nehl/The Oregonian

The Heceta Head Lighthouse, pictured at sunset in winter 2003.

The red-roofed lighthouse perched at the center of a sloping headland is one of the most iconic images on the Oregon coast. Just north of Florence, and a mile from the popular Sea Lion Caves, the Heceta Head Lighthouse has endeared itself to generations of visitors, surviving more than a century on the rocky ocean shore.

This month marks the 125th anniversary of the lighting of Heceta Head Lighthouse, celebrating a history that has seen the beacon's role shift from maritime necessity to antiquated technology, finally preserved and maintained as a tourist attraction.

The Heceta Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast, privately operated in the old keeper's house, will host a variety of celebrations in March, April and May, including a speaker series, teas, a spring hike and a birthday party for the lighthouse March 30.

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Oregonian File Photo

An undated historic photo shows the Heceta Head Lighthouse on the Oregon coast.

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Terry Richard/The Oregonian

Tourists get a look at the Heceta Head Lighthouse in 2015.

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On March 30, 1894, keepers first lit the Heceta Head Lighthouse, a stately 56-foot tower topped by a dazzling Fresnel lens. But the history of Heceta Head goes back more than a century before that, when Europeans were still sailing up and down North America's Pacific coast.

Spanish explorer Bruno de Hezeta set off from Mexico in 1775, with a mission of making it to the Arctic Circle. He made it as far as the Columbia River – becoming the first to map what he assumed was a large bay – then turned back south as his crew began to suffer from scurvy. On the journey, Hezeta took time to note some shallow water offshore of a headland, a place that in 1862 was officially named Heceta Head in his honor.

As merchant ships began sailing up the coastline in the 19th century, the U.S. Lighthouse Board recommended a new beacon to illuminate the dark gap between the lighthouses at Cape Arago and Yaquina Bay. In 1889, Congress approved the project, and in 1892 construction began on the lighthouse and two keepers' houses.

At that time, Heceta Head was still a remote location. Many of the building supplies were brought by ship to the mouth of the nearby Siuslaw River, then loaded into wagons for a trip down a primitive road that was often impassable because of mud, high tides and bad weather. The lighthouse tower was completed in August 1893, but it took another six months for the all-important Fresnel lens to arrive from England. A month later, it finally illuminated the headland.

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Steven Gibbons/The Oregonian

The Heceta Head Lighthouse shines through the dusk light, pictured here in 2007.

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Terry Richard/The Oregonian

A look inside the restored Fresnel lens atop the Heceta Head Lighthouse.

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While the Heceta Head Lighthouse was vital in its early days, its importance began to wane as technology allowed ships to better navigate the coast. Over time, the lens and its rotating mechanism wore out, forcing the U.S. Coast Guard to make a tough decision: Should it deactivate the lighthouse or spend the money to repair it? Public outcry came swiftly in favor of the historic light, so officials removed and repaired the lens, reactivating it in 2001.

Ten years later, the Heceta Head Lighthouse got a $1.3 million top-to-bottom renovation, with funds from the federal government and Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. By that point, the state park site attracted nearly 800,000 visitors each year and had become an iconic landmark on the Oregon coast.

The only thing people have seemed to disagree about is the pronunciation of Heceta Head. The most accepted way is "Ha-SEE-ta," though some locals say it "HECK-a-ta." According to reference book "Oregon Geographic Names," the original Castillian pronunciation of the surname Hezeta would be "Ay-THAY-ta," but that stood little chance of sticking with the English-speaking settlers.

However it's called, the beautiful headland and its historic lighthouse have remained a popular attraction, drawing some 925,000 visitors in 2018. Managed by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, it's one of the few state park sites that charges a day-use fee, but the $5 parking fee seems like a small price to pay for its natural and manmade beauty.

The lighthouse is located at Heceta Head Lighthouse State Scenic Viewpoint, on Highway 101 about 9 miles north of Florence; daily parking fee is $5 per vehicle; tours of the ground floor of the lighthouse are given from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (until 2 p.m. in winter), daily, weather and staff permitting; see more information at oregonstateparks.org or call 541-547-3416.

The 125th anniversary celebration will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 30, at the state park; the event is free and open to the public; see information at hecetaheadlighthouse.com or call 866-547-3696.

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--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB

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