Punta Gorda Light stands on an exceptionally isolated stretch of Northern California coast about 12 miles south of Cape Mendocino, reachable only on foot. Built in 1911 and first lit in 1912, it was notoriously hard to supply, earning the nickname “Alcatraz of Lighthouses.” The station once covered 22 acres with dwellings, service buildings, and a fourth-order Fresnel lens, and life there depended heavily on horses, including Old Bill, which served for 30 years. After World War II the site became too costly to maintain; its aids were discontinued in 1951. Most buildings were later destroyed, and the lighthouse survives as a ruin recognized on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.