Dofflemyer Point Lighthouse - Boston Harbor - Washington State

Dofflemyer Point Lighthouse - Boston Harbor - Washington State. . , AS YOU ENTER BUDD INLET... , The Dofflemyer Point Lighthouse greets you. It sits seven miles north of the Port of Olympia, near the Boston Harbor Marina. This structure provides the southernmost light in Puget Sound., ‘A JOYFUL NOISE’ - The South Puget Sound waterways feature several navigational aids which are maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard. Fog horns are the noisiest. Bells and lights guide travelers on Budd Inlet, Squaxin Passage, and Dana Passage, which includes the area around Johnson Point. These watery guides ‘make a joyful noise’ for skippers who navigate the waters - warning of shoals, points, channel limits, and more. The horn and bell are automatic, but this has not always been the case., The Point - On September 27, 1865, Isaac Dofflemyer (1821-1887) and his wife, the former Susan Allen (1825-1897), were granted 316 acres through the 1850 Donation Land Claim Act, which included the area later renamed Dofflemyer Point., Population Increase - In 1873, the Northern Pacific Railroad reached Tacoma, bringing people and industry. The fastest way from the Tacoma railhead to South Puget Sound was by water on a steamship. Steamships were everywhere, fondly referred to as the Mosquito Fleet. As the population grew, so did vessel traffic. Dofflemyer Point was a critical turn for ships entering Budd Inlet en route to Olympia., Post Lantern - The U.S. Lighthouse Board suggested posting a light at the point. In 1887, a post lantern was erected, a lantern suspended on a pole with a small wooden overhang, to protect it from the weather. Located at the wharf, it was manually raised and lowered by rope and pulley, providing local employment. The light stood 20 feet above high water, with visibility of six miles and 40 candlepower., Concrete Tower - In 1934, the U.S. Lighthouse Service replaced the lantern with a 30-foot lighthouse, a distinctive pyramidal concrete tower. It hosted an automated light, a small non-rotating drum lens with a 1,500 candlepower electric bulb, and a manually operated electric fog horn., Automated - In the early 1960s, the U.S. Coast Guard updated the lighthouse. They installed photoelectric cells to turn the light on and off, but a keeper was still required to maintain the tower and activate the fog signal when needed. Improvements continued. The lighthouse has been fully automated and managed by the U.S. Coast Guard since 1987. In that year, a radio-beacon, which transmitted a radio signal to locate a mariner’s position, was installed., National Register - Dofflemyer Point Lighthouse is known as one of the first automated lighthouses in Washington State and is included on the National Register of Historic Places and on the Washington Heritage Register. The lighthouse sits on private property and is not open to the public., Above: The Dofflemyer Point lighthouse, 1934, is courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard. The South Puget Sound map is courtesy of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Center: The charcoal images of Susan and Isaac Dofflemyer are courtesy of the Washington State Historical Society. , Right: The Dofflemyer Point Lighthouse, 1960, courtesy of Washington State Historical Society. Graphics by Shirley A. Stirling., Washington State Society , Daughters of the American Colonists , Diane V. Smith, State Regent, 2021-2024 ,