Cape Mendocino Lighthouse
Shelter Cove, California
First lit: December 1, 1868
On December 1, 1868, the Cape Mendocino Lighthouse was lit for the first time. It’s flash signature was a single white flash every 30 seconds. This lighthouse was the nearest neighbor to the north of Point Cabrillo when we were erected 1909.
The lighthouse tower was abandoned in 1971, and the erosion on the cliff over the subsequent years put it in danger of toppling off to the rocks below. In 1998, they helicoptered the tower over 30 miles south to Point Delgada in the town of Shelter Cove, where it stands today!