Pigeon Point

Since the time Spanish mariners began charting America’s western seaboard in the early 1600s, the hidden shoals of “Punta de las Ballenas,” or Whale Point, provided refuge for explorers, traders, and whalers alike. Located fifty miles south of San Francisco, Whale Point is now called Pigeon Point and offers safe harbor to the gray whales that were once actively hunted in the area. It is also the site of one of the tallest lighthouses on California’s coast.

The site of the Pigeon Point lighthouse was declared a State Historic Landmark and the surrounding cottages became a hostel in 1980. (Photo is from 1952.) photo Courtesy of Bud and Gert Woodhams

In the early 1800s trading companies made commercial inroads in California, and Atlantic whalers discovered a rich harvest along the Pacific shore. After gold was discovered in the Sierra foothills in 1848, the ocean off Whale Point became a veritable marine highway. Predictably, the rockbound coast, with its heavy surf, strong currents, and thick fog banks, snagged its share of unsuspecting ships. One of those ships was a clipper called the Carrier Pigeon, making its maiden voyage from Boston in 1853. Lost in a blanket of fog, the vessel ran aground at Whale Point, breaking apart and sinking on a ledge of rocks just 500 feet from shore. Nearby settlers found the incident unforgettable and the site was soon known as Pigeon Point.

Public outcry grew over the need for a lighthouse in the area. Unfortunately, it took the wreck of three more ships—the Sir John Franklin in 1865, the Coya in 1866, and the Hellespont in 1868—along with the loss of many lives, to exert pressure on the Lighthouse Board for money to build the structure. In 1872 the 115-foot tower, constructed of 500,000 locally-made bricks and built to contain a giant first-order Fresnel lens, was completed. A two-story Victorian-style home was added as keepers’ quarters.

In the late 1800s Pigeon Point was not only the site of a lighthouse but also the location of a small shipping center, trading village, and whaling station. Originally established by Portuguese shore whalers from the Azores, the cove south of the lighthouse sheltered twelve cottages and two warehouses. On the beach below were trypots with men busy extracting oil from heaps of blubber. Whalers considered the gray whale the most dangerous to hunt because it is more aggressive in protecting its young.

At the same time, it was also easier prey since it is frequently found in shallow waters close to shore. Under the lee side of Pigeon Point was an anchorage where ships could be warped into a space not much bigger than a dry dock. The region exported whale oil, tallow, potatoes, butter, cheese, grain, lumber, and hides—mostly to San Francisco.

The Pigeon Point lighthouse was completed in 1872. It is one of the tallest along California’s coast. photo Kelly Newton for MBNMS

The lighthouse nearly put an end to major shipwrecks, but not entirely. In 1896 the Columbia, a steamer making its first run from Panama to San Francisco, ran aground just south of the tower. In 1913 the steam schooner Point Arena was dashed upon the rocks in rough seas and broke in half as it attempted to moor at the landing. The last and worst maritime disaster of the area occurred in 1929. The passenger steamer San Juan was sailing through fog-obscured waters off the coast of Pigeon Point when it collided with the oil tanker S.C.T. Dodd. The San Juan sank within five minutes, taking seventy-five passengers and crew to a watery grave.

In recent years the lighthouse has faced many changes yet stands nearly the same as when it was built. The keepers’ quarters survived a fire in 1933 but faced demolition in 1960 to make way for four bungalow structures. In 1972 the light station was automated with an aero-beacon but still retains its original first-order Fresnel lens. In 1980 the site was declared a State Historic Landmark and the cottages became a hostel, open to the public for overnight stays. Tours began in 1984.

Today Pigeon Point is one of the best landfalls from which to see gray whales on their annual migration between Baja, Mexico and Alaska. They travel thousands of miles each way on one of the longest migratory journeys on earth. It is not uncommon to see these magnificent mammals nurturing their young very close to shore in the cove once called Whale Point. It is a visit they have been making for centuries.

– JoAnn Semones