Point Fermin Lighthouse
Los Angeles, California
First lit: December 15, 1874
On December 15, 1874, two almost identical California lighthouses were lit for the first time, Point Hueneme and Point Fermin.
The first two keepers at the Point Fermin Light were sisters Mary and Ella Smith. They were joint lightkeepers for the first eight years of the lighthouse’s service, and not the last sisters to take care of this place. In 1925, sisters Thelma and Juanita Austin took over care of the lighthouse after their father (the lighthouse keeper at that time) and mother both passed away.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the light at Point Fermin was extinguished in 1941. the lens room atop the lighthouse was removed, and it was turned into a lookout tower for spotting enemy vessels.
Many years later in 1974, restoration work was done at Point Fermin, adding the lens room back atop the tower just in time for their centennial celebration. There is an excellent story about the search for the original Fresnel Lens at Point Fermin…