Cape Meares Evening

Cape Meares Lighthouse sits atop is a small headland on the Pacific coast in Tillamook County, and was lit for the first time on January 1, 1890. The name was derived from Captain John Meares who was the first to sail into Tillamook Bay, naming it Quick Sand Bay because of the mud at low tide.  Though the squatty lighthouse is only 38 feet tall (making it the shortest lighthouse in the state), it is located atop a 217-foot cliff allowing the light to be seen some 25 miles. The original light station consisted of the tower and two oil houses. In 1895 a workroom abutting the tower was added.The lighthouse is constructed of bricks made right on site at a cost of $2,900 and covered with iron plates which were made in Portland and shipped by wagon to the location.  The original addition that now houses the interpretive shop was built in 1895  - the current interpretive shop replaced the original work room in 1978. Electricity came to the lighthouse in 1934, and the two oil houses were dismantled. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1963 when an automated beacon was installed on a concrete blockhouse a few feet from the tower. The new light can be seen 25 miles at sea.Today Cape Meares Lighthouse is part of Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint and is interpreted by Friends of Cape Meares Lighthouse.