Built just south of the entrance to Coos Bay, the present Cape Arago Light is the third to be built on this site. The tremendous shipping traffic of lumber out of Coos Bay and North Bend required the establishment of a light in 1866, after Oregon's first lighthouse on the Umpqua River to the south collapsed in 1861. That first Cape Arago Light was replaced in 1909 with a new tower and fog signal building. These wooden structures served until the present octagonal 40 foot concrete tower replaced them in 1934.In 1993 Cape Arago Light was renovated by the Coast Guard. The original Fourth Order lens was replaced by a modern beacon. The site is not open to the public, but can be viewed from Sunset Bay State Park, just south of Charleston.