Built in 1906 the station was home to generations of lightkeeper families. Automated in 1973 the station was effectively unattended for forty years and suffered from vandalism, weather degradation, and scavenging. Volunteers from the Northwest Schooner Society (NWSS)committed to bringing the station back to habitability, following guidelines established by the Secretary of the Interior and the Washington State Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation.
In 2023 the Coast Guard brought in contractors to remove contaminated soil, replace the failing roof on the Keepers Quarters, and eliminate a few other rugged barriers to appropriate restoration.
NWSS volunteers have taken over and much has been accomplished, although there is still a monumental amount of work to be done to return the lighthouse and the outbuildings to their original condition. There are even two historic buildings that will eventually reappear.
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1) Offer tours of the historic buildings.
2) Make the station safe and sound for overnight guests.
3) Encourage school groups to visit during the spring and fall.
4) Tie the interior decor of the duplex units to 1906, and 1939.
5) Show how international sailors used lighthouses.
6) Demonstrate how indigenous sailors navigated the Salish Sea.
7) Meet new people and make friends.
8) Share skills and learn new ones.
9) Enjoy those amazing sunsets.
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There is so much work to be done, but with volunteers and professionals working side-by-side, we hope the massive Victorian/Craftsman duplex will be open for overnight stays within the next five years.
Some people volunteer to make use of the skills they learned in long years spent in the building trades, while others come over to help out and develop their own set of skills. A lot of hammer swinging gets done, along with painting, and some amazing results can be seen when decayed-looking woodwork get washed and reveals fresh white paint underneath.
A considerable amount of money will be needed to keep us in materials, pay fees for permits and dumping, and manage transportation to get us over to the island. Can you help with a donation? Click Get Involved if you'd like to know more about restoring a light station.
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