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 Expected to ship
in July 2001

New Dungeness, Washington

Harbour Lights Limited Edition #261

The two eager families, loaded with a week’s worth of food and clothing, patiently wait for the changing of the tide. Whether it is daylight or in the wee hours of the morn, they set out across the five and one half-mile sand spit to relieve the crew at the New Dungeness Lighthouse.

The changing of the guard happens quickly and the departing keepers traverse the spit back to the mainland before the tide turns. In spite of heavy storms and the unexpected deposits of driftwood, the New Dungeness Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society (USLHS) has yet to miss their scheduled crew change.

Since September of 1994, the USLHS has had a license to man and maintain the lighthouse. The Coast Guard agreed to this arrangement after withdrawing the last keeper in March of ‘94. Because vandalism and neglect usually ensues at an abandoned sentinel, this agreement has most likely saved the lighthouse from certain demise.

The volunteer keepers clean the station, make repairs, maintain the grounds and conduct tours for those daring visitors who brave the long trek. Lighthouse lovers either walk the five and a half miles, kayak to the spit’s end or beach their boats and wade ashore. Some come by horse and even one industrious individual arrived by seaplane! But the journey is more than worth it. Once you reach the historic lighthouse, you are overcome with the remarkable charm of the New Dungeness Lighthouse. The Olympic Mountains stretch to the south, the Cascades tower to east, the San Juan Islands dot the horizon to the north and Vancouver Island greets you to the northwest. Because this is a wildlife preservation area, bald eagles, seals, sea lions, and many types of birds pay you a visit.

As the first lighthouse lit in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, in the year 1857, New Dungeness has endured the challenges of surviving in this remote area. For one thing, it stood right on the battleground used by neighboring Indians to settle their disputes. In 1868, the Clallam Indians massacred the eighteen Tsimshian Indians who were camping on the spit. One woman, pregnant with child, managed to escape to the lighthouse and was sheltered by the concerned keeper, Henry Blake. The Blake family stood up to the marauding tribe, refusing to turn the grieving woman over to them, risking their own lives in the process. Fortunately, the expecting mother recovered from her injuries. Her grateful son returned years later to visit.

Unlike most towers that have been raised to increase their effectiveness, the New Dungeness sentinel was drastically reduced from 100 feet to 63 feet. Officials lopped off the upper third because it was simply top-heavy. The lighthouse, fog bells and horns have prevented many shipwrecks, but could not save them all. Despite the warning light, the steamer Sioux wrecked on this perilous hazard known to mariners as “shipwreck spit.”

Volunteer keepers at the New Dungeness Lighthouse pay $75 per week to stay and maintain the lighthouse. 

Photography by Paul L. Brady © Harbour Lights 
December 13, 2001