Winchester Bay, Oregon
The Umpqua River Light dates from 1894. It features a gorgeous and unusual
revolving, octagonal, red-and-white First Order lens. The light shines 24
hours a day, but visit Umpqua after dark or before sunrise, if you possibly
can. As you enter Umpqua Lighthouse State Park, down a winding road, the
light's rainbow beacon rotates through the tall pines with an alternating red
and white beam. The 65 foot tower is brick covered with white stucco, but you
will not be able to take you eyes off this
fantastic lens.
In November of 1983 the old chariot wheel mechanism that rotates the light
broke down. The Coast Guard promptly installed an airpost beacon on the tower
and made plans to remove the original lens. Local residents launched a storm
of protest until the Coast Guard relented and repaired the rotating apparatus.
The present light is the second on this site. The first, built closer to the
river in 1857, was washed away by floods six years later.
