In March 1778 Captain James Cook sailed over the waters of the North Washington Coast. There was an opening along the coastline. Since he thought that it was welcomed thought that it was a passage to the strait of Juan de Fuca, he named the place called Cape Flattery. In his logbook, he wrote: "At this very latitude geographer placed a false strait of Juan de Fuka, but nothing of such was found in our view.
Ten years later, Captain Ioan Mareless visited a small island about half a mile from Cape Aburati and confirmed the existence of Juan de Fuka Strait. So he met the head of Tatooche, Makah Indians. He named this Island after Secretary Tatooche. The chief based on the island during the summer captured the whale and captured the salmon.
In 1850, William MacArthur ended the study of the West Coast and encouraged him to set up a lighthouse on Tatoshe. In this way, the ship can enter the Channel during the night and you do not have to wait until daytime. In 1854, Congress was convinced that it would allocate $ 39,000 to build a lighthouse in Tatoosh Island and New Dungeness Spit. The government paid 30 thousand dollars for all the traditional land of Maka, except for a small reservation in the Nea Bay.
Maka Indians were very angry with Caucasians who bought the land and had the construction agent bravely accept hostile receptions. This is because hundreds of Indians were killed by the occurrence of smallpox caused by the disease who had "Bostons" in 1853. During the summer, Indians continued to use this island for fishery and whale hunting. In order to protect them, the construction crew built a wooden block house roughly cut off before starting construction with a lighthouse. A crew member always had a security obligation, but there were no further problems for Indians other than a few missing tools and fixtures.
On 28th December 1857 the light of the first Louis Sauer Fresnel lens was first illuminated at the 66 ft. Tower of the Cape Atatüll lighthouse. This tower was taller than most of the Cape-Cod-Style lighthouse. The white light had a focal plane 162 feet above sea. The Cape Flattery lighthouse was the 14th lighthouse on the west coast.
Wage of the keeper of the lighthouse was bad, weather condition was bad. I resigned many guards. In 1861, there were visitors to the island that saw the devastated state of the lighthouse. He saw a leaked roof and moss growing on the inner wall. The wind blew the chimney and smoke invaded the living area. Extra fuel was supplied to the keeper and county technicians were ordered to find a permanent solution.
In 1873, after a few years of miserable conditions and unfamiliar guardians the lighthouse was declared "unoccupied" as the wall was broken all the year round. Congress allocated $ 18,000 to build a new dual structure with six rooms on both sides. The room of the lighthouse which had been a quarter in the past was currently used for storage.
Several very interesting things happened on this island. Francis James was the first major keeper. One day he got angry at the assistant and thread coffee in his face. The two decided to settle the argument in a gun battle game. They took three shots of each other, it is called looking at the draw and hand. After that, another assistant confuses to remove the bullet.
Because of the "scroll" nature of the bachelor's degree holders, the guardian with the family was more reliable, and it was determined that the family came to the island in 1894, so it was judged that more living space is needed . The lighthouse became easier to live once more.
The assistant Nels Nelson and Frank Reif on 27th October 1900 lost their lives with a small ship during the storm. Their body was discovered in Vancouver Island a week later.
In 1900 John W. Kowan, his wife and seven children arrived at the lighthouse and experienced many exciting eras for 32 years. The children attended school in Portland while staying with their relatives. They spend the summer with their parents at home on the island. There were enough children to secure a school on the island.
On February 18, 1911, Cowan saw a ship struggling in the angry sea between Tatoosh Island and Neah Bay. He was able to rescue the men of the two Navy radio, but he could not save the three, including his son's Forest.
There is a story that 70 miles of storms hit the island in one hour in 1921, but it was shot over the island across the island of about 300 feet, keeping vegetation before crawling for safety. Family bulls were stated as "lost in the ocean". Everyone was very surprised, he swam and gave extra food.
The Kwan tribe was obviously very loved. When they retired in September 1932 and left the island, colleagues' islanders were shedding tears.
The second assistant keeper · Ole · Rasmussen was another victim while coming back to the island with a small boat. A heavy swelling subverted his craft and he was clogged in his head.
The weather station was closed in 1966. Automation of Light Station 's 1977. The latest beacon was set up to replace the Fresnel lens of the tower in 1996
The Maka Indian tribe manages the corrupt Cape Flattery Lighthouse and the island.
Drive to Nea Bay, get out of the car and climb o.75 miles to the tip of the cape, you can see Tatooz island and the lighthouse. This is the most important point of the West in the continental United States.
At Port Anzels you can go to the museum at 207 South Lincoln Street and see the 4th order Fresnel lenses used in Cape Flattery. The museum's time is from Wednesday to Saturday from 1 PM to 4 PM.
