Approximately 10,000 years ago, Dungeness Spit began to form from sand and gravel from the Olympic Mountains carried by the Dungeness River into Dungeness Bay, while debris sloughed from bluffs to the west was redistributed along the spit by tidal currents. In 1792 Captain George Vancouver explored the Strait of Juan de Fuca and named the spit after Dungeness Point in England. In 1850 Congress approved funding for the first 16 West Coast lighthouses, including New Dungeness, and in 1853 Oregon became a state and Washington Territory was officially established. The station was built in 1857, and the light was lit for the first time. In 1861 the Civil War began. In 1915 President Woodrow Wilson decreed Dungeness Spit a Department of Agriculture wild bird reservation with public access. In 1927 the top 27.5 feet of the tower were removed because of deterioration, and the pile of bricks from the shortening, now covered with grass, forms a small hill just outside the west fence. In 1994 the last United States Coast Guard keeper was relieved of duty, and the New Dungeness Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society, later called the New Dungeness Light Station Association, was formed and assumed operation and maintenance of the station.