TERRIBLE TILLY

 I've been going moderately bonkers trying to figure out how to approach "Terrible Tilly." The nickname of the lighthouse on Tillamook Rock located about a mile offshore from Tillamook Head short for headland.) The lighthouse doesn't have to more common tall tower. Built on a small basalt island. Hard to think of it as an island. The whole rock coovers barey an acre and part of than is under water at high tide. Combined height of rock and building is approximately one hundred fifty feet high. Her light was visible for nearly twenty miles. Which means those waves are about two hundred feet high. Tillamook Rock is located about twenty miles south of the mouth of the Columbia River. Before the North and South jetties were built sailing ships would wait in the that twenty mile gap until weather conditons were safe enough to attempt the river's mouth on their way to either Astoria or the main Port of Portland.

It's a great shot but the structure of the island was the bane of keeping the damn lighthouse functioning. It also meant that as ships became larger and could stand further out to sea the lighthose service decommisioned her in the late 1950's

The rock at low tide. That notch faces out to sea. When those giant waves hit the notch the force of the water tears into the basalt. Rocks large enough to crach through the building roof so often that it was finally replaced with concrete. Unless you are planning to commit suicide you can't within fifty feet of the island by sea. Shot from 1947. There's a crane below the small building. Everything. and I do mean everything had to be brought

in by breeches bouy or cargo net. Men, equipment, the building material for the lighthouse station,food, probably water as well. At least during the dry season. Some of the Oregon lighthouses were built of bricks manufactured from local clay near the building sites. 

In 1879 the first surveyor managed to make it onto the rock with a tape measure and the barest of equipment. On  his fourth try. The second surveyor made the jump, lost his footing and was drowned. A third surveyor managed to land himself and a crew to begin blasting about thirty feet off the top of the rock to created a level base for building. It was nearly a month before the crew could even get on the rock and even more time to get most of their supplies off the revenue cutter. This was October of 1879. They could have at least waited for summer when the weather is usually a little better.Tillamook Rock Light Station was finally completed in January of 1881. The main building sits on about a quarter acre and included a foghorn as well at the light beacon. From 1881 to 1957 the lighthouse and her four man crews battled wind, waves, debris and islolation to keep the beacon shining and the forhorn sending out its lonely warnings. The sound of a foghorn has to be one of the lonliest sounds on the coast. 

The shipping lanes are further out to sea now and Terrible Tilly was the most expensive, crankiest lighthouse in our part of the Pacific. She was decommisioned and sold in 1957. The sea lions and the birds have reclaimed their little piece of  semi dry land. They were there before the staion was built and will probably be there long after the wind and the waves reclaim the island. If by chance you want to take a look at the old girl. You can take the scenic route from Portland along highway 30 following the 

Columbia to Astoria, connecting with highway 101 and head south about twenty miles to Seaside and Ecola state park. Or take a more direct route on 126 hitting 101 just south of Seaside. It's beautiful country just plan on taking it easy traffic can get a little hairy at times. 

Well that's out of my system at least for now.