Tillamook Rock Light

Tillamook Rock Light
As seen in 1947
Map
LocationTillamook Head, Clatsop County, US
Coordinates45°56′15″N 124°01′08″W / 45.9375°N 124.019°W / 45.9375; -124.019
Tower
Constructionconcrete (foundation), basalt (tower), brick (tower), iron (tower) Edit this on Wikidata
Height62 ft (19 m) Edit this on Wikidata
Shapesquare (tower), round (lantern) Edit this on Wikidata
HeritageNational Register of Historic Places listed place Edit this on Wikidata
Light
First lit21 January 1881 Edit this on Wikidata
Deactivated1957 Edit this on Wikidata
Focal height133 ft (41 m) Edit this on Wikidata
Lensfirst order Fresnel lens Edit this on Wikidata
Range18 nmi (33 km; 21 mi) Edit this on Wikidata
Tillamook Rock Lighthouse
NRHP reference No.81000480
Added to NRHPDecember 9, 1981

Tillamook Rock Light (known locally as Terrible Tilly or just Tilly) is a deactivated lighthouse on the northern Oregon Coast of the United States. It is located approximately 1.2 miles (1.9 km) offshore from Tillamook Head, and 20 miles (32 km) south of the mouth of the Columbia River near Astoria, situated on less than an acre of basalt rock in the Pacific Ocean. The construction of the lighthouse was commissioned in 1878 by the United States Congress and took more than 500 days to complete. Shortly before the completion of the lighthouse in January 1881, the barque Lupatia was wrecked near the rock during foggy weather and sank, with the loss of all 16 crew members.

Tillamook Rock Light was officially lit on January 21, 1881. At the time, it was the most expensive lighthouse to be built on the West Coast. Due to the local erratic weather conditions, and the dangerous commute for both keepers and suppliers, the lighthouse earned the nicknamed "Terrible Tilly" (or "Tillie"). Over the years, storms and the sea have damaged the structure, shattered the lens, and eroded the rock. The light was decommissioned in 1957, and has since been sold several times to private buyers. Since the 1980s it functioned as a columbarium until 1999. Today the lighthouse remains privately owned. Tillamook Rock Light is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and is part of the Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. The lighthouse is visible from the coastal cities of Seaside and Cannon Beach, as well as from Ecola State Park.