Lit on Dec. 1, 1868, its first order Fresnel lens swept 30 miles to sea. Decommissioned in 1951, the structure slowly began to inch toward the 422-foot cliff. The light was dismantled in 1998 and moved to Point Delgada, Shelter Cove by the Cape Mendocino Lighthouse Preservation Society, and the lantern roof portion was airlifted by the Army National Guard. Funded during the Lincoln administration, the lighthouse became a monument to the hardy and long-suffering keepers of the light and to the United States Coast Guard, who served to keep people and ships safe.