Piedras Blancas Lighthouse
Near San Simeon, California
First lit: February 15, 1875
On February 15, 1875, the Piedras Blancas Lighthouse was lit for the first time.
This light station was equipped with a first order Fresnel Lens from Paris – and that lens took a beating! In the year 1880, on two different occasions, large birds crashed through the glass panes in the lens room and chipped and scratched the lens.
The second Head Keeper at Piedras Blancas, Lorin Thorndyke, stayed at the lighthouse for 27 years, before he retired at the age of 67. His reason for retirement? They had just installed the new foghorn at the light station, and he didn’t like the noise.