Tillamook Rock Lighthouse

Terrible Tilly 

Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, some 134 feet tall, also referred to as Terrible Tilly, is arguably the most weather beaten lighthouse in the continental U.S.  Completed in 1881 after some 575 days of construction by the Army Corps of Engineers, it was at the time, the most expensive lighthouse ever built on the west coast of the U.S.  It got its nickname from the erratic weather conditions and the dangerously cumbersome commute for lightkeepers and suppliers alike. Decommissioned in 1957 due to its deteriorating conditions and the high cost of maintenance, the lighthouse was originally to be built at Tillamook Head but when the initial survey team realized the light would be shrouded in fog most of the year due to its position high on the cliff, the lighthouse was relocated to Tillamook Rock, a basalt rock island some 1.2 miles off shore. Seen in this photo from the beach head on the mainland, the rock and the lighthouse have seen many tragic events during their lifetime.

While two earlier surveys recommended against the construction on this rock island, a third survey of the Rock took place during which the lead surveyor was swept out to sea while attempting to land by vessel on the rock. While there had already been public opposition to the construction of the lighthouse, this incident outraged the public even further. Work crews had to be sequestered on the island and on an offshore ship during construction for fear that public opposition and the stories of the accident would spook the workers. During the first few days on the island, the construction crew of five had to fight off angry sea lions who also opposed their presence. The mental and physical challenges of working and living on the island took their toll. Dismissals and turn-over assignments were frequent. One worker tried to poison another worker by grinding up glass in his food. Access to the island had become by way of a "breeches buoy" from ship to shore due to landings being far too precarious to be successful on a regular basis. This was done by cable from ship to the top of the rock. Mail and supplies were irregular due to storms and high seas. In another incident in early January of 1881 just twelve days before the opening, the ship Lupatia heading from Japan to the mouth of the Columbia River, some 20 miles to the north, with a crew of 16 and a dog aboard were violently shipwrecked during a howling gale.  The ship had been so close to the island that the workers could hear the crew calling for help but could do nothing. The only survivor was the crew's shetland collie dog. The dog lived another nine years.

Throughout its history, the tower itself was damaged by severe storms that broke out the lantern room glass and damaged the first-order fresnel lens. During one such 110-mph storm, surging waves had broken out the glass of the tower and lightkeepers were bailing water from the lantern room in order to keep the light from extinguishing. There had also been tales of voices heard coming from a mythical underwater tunnel from the mainland to the island as told by Native Americans in the area. Records tell tales of voices heard deep underground however no tunnel has ever been discovered.

In 1980, there came a fittingly macabre twist to this lighthouse story. Two women bought the lighthouse and turned it into a columbarium. They planned a storage house full of urns of cremated human remains. Advertised as "Eternity at Sea", there was to be storage for 100,000 ash urns. The required urn niches were never built and by 1996, only 30 urns were housed there. The license for the columbarium was revoked in 1999 by the Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board due to improper storage and poor record keeping. Some urns were only placed on concrete block pedestals. Despite reapplication for the license, none has been reissued and the urns still remain on the island in an empty lighthouse surrounded only by birds and sea lions.