Vol 348 Engineer Reports 13th Dist. 1873 and 1874 CF Exhibted YB Discontinued

Office of the Light House Engineer Thirteenth District Portland, Oregon, Sept 9, 1873

SIR: I have the honor to make the following Report of Operations for the month of August 1873. Cape Foulweather Lt Station, Ogn Completed work on Lt-House & lantern, instructed keepers to exhibited the light for the first time on the night of August 20”. New Dungenness Lt Station, W.T. Completed detail plans and estimates of fog signal house. Purchased materials and sent men in charge of Supt of repairs, to erect fog whistle. Make contract for boiler for Fog Signal. Probable Operations for September Commence building house and cistern. Complete transportation and hauling of material. Admiralty Head Lt Station, W.T. Probable operations for September. Commence painting dwelling. Columbia River LH Station, Ogn Begin building Road in September, if plan forwarded is approved by Light House Board. Point no Point LH Station, W.T. Begin in September building road and clearing land of heavy timber, if Report of April 30th is approved by the Light-house Board. Very Respectfully, Chairman Light-House Board, Henry M Robert Washington DC Maj of Eng’rs & L.H. Eng’r

Office of the Light House Engineer Thirteenth District Portland, Oregon, Dec 9, 1873

SIR: I enclose herewith for the information of Board, copy of a letter of the Hon J.H. Mitchell State Senator from Oregon, calling attention to the disposition on the part of the Light House Board to abolish the light at Yaquina Bay, Oregon. A copy of the letter of the Hon Ben Simpson on the same subject, transmitted with that of the Hon Mr. Mitchell is also enclosed. In this connection I have the honor to report that accompanied by the Commodore Spotts, Inspector of Lights, I left this city December 4th hesitant, for the purpose of visiting Yaquina Bay with the view of reporting upon the expediency of discontinuing the light at that station, but arriving to the unprecedented snow storm was unable to proceed beyond Albany. Very respectfully, ??? Lighthouse Engineer

Chairman Lighthouse Board Washington City, DC

United States Senate Chamber

Washington Dec 5th 1873

Gen'l Michler Engineer Corps U.S.A. Portland Oregon Dear Sir I understand there is some disposition on the part of the Light-House Board to abolish the Light at Yaquina Bay, Oregon. I sincerely trust this will not be done, and trust your influence will be exerted in retaining it for the reasons urged in the enclosed letter Gov. Ben Simpson who has been a resident of Oregon for over a quarter of a century, and is thoroughly posted on its coast. Will you please transmit this to the local officers. And much oblige Very respectfully, (signed) JH Mitchell USS

Washington DC Nov 28th 1873

My Dear Sir Allow me to call to your attention a matter in which the people of Oregon, particularly those living in the vicinity of Yaquina Bay, in Benton County, are particularly interested. I have reference to the continuance of the light situated at the mouth or entrance of the Bay. I have understood that there was some talk its discontinuance. I should as well as all there of that vicinity, regard such a course as operating deleterious to the shifting interests of that place. There are now four or five stores, and two lumbering mills on the Bay, all of which are dependent upon vessels to carry away their produce and bring their goods from San Francisco. Besides we have an extensive Oyster Bed, in the Bay of Yaquina, some four miles from its mouth from which considerable revenue has been derived from the people of that locality by shipping Oysters to San Francisco.

The question may be asked what benefit can the light be to the trade. I could answer very great benefit for the following reasons. In the first place its location particularly marks the channel or entrance to the Bay, the point being a very prominent one where the light is situated you can see it at a very great distance at sea, and by getting the highlands inside in range it could so mark the entrance that a vessel could run in in the night time without difficult, and another very important benefit it serves, it marks the end of a reef some distance out at sea, that extends from opposite Cape Foulweather to this point a distance of about four miles, running as you will see on Map of survey, about parallel with the shore. The rocks on this reef are almost bare at low tide. I have had a good opportunity to know something of the effect of this upon shipping to this point as I delivered most all the material for building light house at Cape Foulweather from San Francisco. We always entered inside the reef