Farallon Island Lighthouse

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First lit in 1855. Automated in the '60s.

Like most of the early lighthouses built in California, this light was to be of the Cape Cod design, with the tower protruding through the roof of the keeper's dwelling. However, due to narrowness of the island's summit, only a tower was placed atop the peak, while the keeper's quarters was built on a large plateau on the eastern side of the island. After the tower was complete, it proved too small to house a first-order Fresnel lens, and the tower had to be torn down and rebuilt. Hauling the building supplies up the crumbling slopes was an arduous task. After staging a sit-down strike, the construction worker's pleas were answered and a seasick mule named Jack arrived on the island to help pack the supplies up the steep slope. The lighthouse was lit for the first time in December of 1855.

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