Exploring South County Backroads
In an era when water travel was a preferred way to get to
California, trade and passenger ships followed the coastline,
guided away from shoreline hazards by light beams and sound,
emanating from a series of strategically placed signal beacons and
fog horns. Point Sur, located along today’s Hwy. 1 south of Carmel,
was a potentially hazardous locale, where many ships ran aground.
Plans were first begun for the facility in 1866, just a year after
the Civil War ended.
Exploring South County Backroads
In an era when water travel was a preferred way to get to California, trade and passenger ships followed the coastline, guided away from shoreline hazards by light beams and sound, emanating from a series of strategically placed signal beacons and fog horns. Point Sur, located along today’s Hwy. 1 south of Carmel, was a potentially hazardous locale, where many ships ran aground. Plans were first begun for the facility in 1866, just a year after the Civil War ended.
It would be another 21 years before the work was begun to construct the Pt. Sur light station. When it finally opened, on Aug. 1, 1889, the beacon and its related facilities had taken two years to complete. Perched atop an enormous rocky outcropping, the first light beam was powered by a large multi-wick kerosene lamp, surrounded by a Fresnel lens weighing 6,000 pounds. At 18 feet tall with a 6-foot diameter, the beacon house sent out a light signal visible for 23 nautical miles. The system itself was balanced on a turning mechanism powered by weights, while steam-driven fog signals whistled loud blasts out to sea to warn ships passing in the night.
Duties were strictly adhered to. The work shift lasted around the clock, a grueling schedule for the small work force that occupied the facility. The keeper tending to his shift had to head up a narrow spiral staircase with canisters of kerosene to fill the light chamber that kept the wick burning. In addition, the glass had to be cleaned every day so the light would shine forth clearly.
In time, the kerosene-powered beacon, which was in later years operated by the Coast Guard, became an automated electric light on a powered turning system. Fog whistles were deactivated, replaced by radio signals.
Today, a seasonally busy highway passes by Point Sur. But for passersby, the area still seems remote, its jagged cliffside washed by incoming tides that slap endlessly against an empty, stretching shoreline. It’s not difficult to pause at the spot, and go back in time to an age when travel and life went at a much slower pace.
Early life at this seaward outpost was not just lonely, it was geographically remote. Little more than a horse trail led south from Carmel on the 14-hour wagon trip to reach Point Sur. Visits, plus land-run supply trips, were seldom occurrences. Hwy. 1 didn’t exist when the Point Sur light station was built, and work would not commence on the project until 1922, a job so laborious it wasn’t completed until 1937. In the meantime, folks had to depend on the Old Coast Road. A section of the meandering route remains today, picking up at the head of the rainbow-curved Bixby Bridge and heading inland through a deep redwood forest before coming out at Andrew Molera State Beach, located just north of Big Sur.
For major supply runs, residents at the light station depended upon 3-month ship visits from vessels that went up and down the coast servicing the light stations. At Pt. Sur, the surf and ruggedness of the coastline prohibited the larger tenders from coming in close. Instead, after weighing anchor off shore, smaller whaleboats would be laden with goods, coal, food and firewood, and brought in to a rocky area that served as a dock. From below, the supplies were hauled up the seaward rocky side of the point on a narrow gauge rail system, the pulling power provided by a steam-driven winch.
Living as they did in such a remote locale, for sustenance, Pt. Sur residents had to make do with what they had, often for months at a time. Each of the four families was provided with a small plot for gardening, where even the soil to grow vegetables had been hauled up in sacks. A few families kept chickens and geese, and a cow was brought in for milk. Children were schooled by a live-in teacher provided by the local school board. She stayed with the head lighthouse keeper during the school term and taught classes in a shed located behind the living quarters.
Life wasn’t always dull routine. Besides witnessing occasional shipwrecks over the years from their lofty promontory, Pt. Sur families living there in 1935 also watched the Navy dirigible, Macon, go down, and saw its crew rescued.
Today at the old Pt. Sur Light Station, progress continues on restoration of the old buildings that have stood against the buffeting winds for so many decades. Besides peeking into the windows of the former residences, visitors will tour the compact grounds and observe several completed restoration projects, such the lantern room, a combination carpenter and blacksmith shop and the barn, where residents once kept livestock out of the wind and weather. The old water tower, replaced by a look-alike of the 1907 structure, holds a cell telephone site in its interior. The tower was originally built at a sufficient height to provide water pressure for flush toilets in the Assistant Keeper’s quarters.
The Coast Guard occupied Pt. Sur and surrounding acreage until 1972. Today, Pt. Sur Light Station is a California State Historic park. Tours of the grounds, held year-round, are limited to 40 people at a time, on a first-come, first-served basis. At present, tours are offered Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and Sundays at 10 a.m. Visitors must park at the Hwy. 1 gate, wait to be conducted onto the grounds, and park at the base of the point before making a 360-foot walk up a service road to the site. Two stairways complete the trip to the site, a steep walk well worth the effort for the incredible views from the top. Besides walking past the historic buildings and climbing the lighthouse tower to see the beacon, views of the crashing ocean far below, sea birds winging high above, and on occasion, passing whale pod, make this spot a memorable place to visit. Moonlight tours, which include “ghost tales” are available April-October as posted.
A Visitor Center on the property offers a short video on the station’s history, plus restrooms and a warm spot to spend time away from the often chilly winds at this unique spot along our Central Coast.
GETTING THERE: From Carmel, drive 20 miles south along Highway One. The Point Sur lighthouse, and its high outcropping, will loom into sight. Look for a marked gate and park off the pavement by the ocean side of the highway. Wait for the volunteer docent who will come at the appointed hour and open the gate to conduct the cars, in line, to a parking spot inside the grounds. Allow enough driving time to be waiting in place along the highway at least a half-hour before opening. Besides the Saturday and Sunday regular tours, moonlight tours are offered beginning on June 10, July 9 and July 10 at 7:45 PM: August 7 and 8 (7:15 PM), September 6 and 7 (6:45 PM), and October 6 and 7 (6 PM). No reservations are accepted for tours, however, private tours can be arranged for groups of up to 40. Wear layered clothing, the weather can be cold and windy, but warm when the sun is out. Admission: Adult $8, Ages 6-17, $4, Ages 5 and under, free. No pets, no picnics, no large motorhomes or campers, no strollers or baby carriages, no beach access, no smoking, eating or drinking. Visitors with disabilities who need assistance should contact the park office to determine whether their specific needs can be met by calling (831) 667-0528.
For more information, contact: Pt. Sur State Historic park, Big Sur Station #1, Big Sur, Ca 93920, or go on-line to: www.pointsur.org or www.parks.ca.gov. For general information, call 831-625-4419.
