TRANSPORTATION · LIGHTHOUSE
Willamette River Light
Transportation
Willamette River Light stood near Portland, Oregon, at the mouth of the Willamette River where it met the Columbia, helping vessels navigate a difficult channel of fog, narrow water, and shifting islands and sloughs. Authorized in the 1890s and completed in 1895, the octagonal wood-frame station used a fixed red oil light and a mechanically struck bell to guide river traffic. Around 1935 it was electrified and automated, and its dwelling was later moved for use as a watchtower. Abandoned after 1956, the structure burned in 1959. Broken pilings near Kelley Point Park are the main visible remains of this once important aid to commerce.
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Vancouver, Oregon
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