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Saint George Reef Lighthouse

Eureka Main Library

Near Crescent City, six miles from land at the end of St. George Reef, stands a distant, wave-swept rock—and on that rock, a lighthouse. A posting at St. George Reef was not for the faint-hearted. Five lighthouse-keepers died in the course of their lonely, arduous duties. Waves batter the lighthouse from all sides, in stormy weather reaching to the height of the light itself, 150 feet above sea level. Author Guy Towers will visit the Eureka Library to discuss his new book about the light. Images of America: St. George Reef Lighthouse is a pictorial history that features over 200 photos and historical details gleaned from Towers’ 25 years of work to learn about and restore this impressive structure. The wreck of the coastal steamer Brother Jonathan in 1865, killed over 200 people, and spurred efforts to build the light. The costs were staggering, and the engineering task so challenging that the lighthouse wasn’t complete until 1892. The tower had to be water tight, and was built with huge granite blocks quarried here in Humboldt and precisely shaped to engineers’ specifications at a construction yard near the Humboldt Bay Life-Saving Station. Once erected, the sturdy beacon warned mariners of the dread “Dragon Rocks” for nearly a century. Hear about this lighthouse, its construction, the lifesaving work of the keepers and efforts to preserve the building and its history from the author, Guy Towers. Copies of his book will be available for purchase and signing.

DATES/TIMES

WHERE

• Eureka Main Library

PRICE

• Free