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Admiralty Head
Admiralty Head
Lighthouse History

Built: 1861 Rebuilt 1903

Type: Conical with attached spanish style structure two story residence

Height: 30 feet

Status: Non Active

Location: Coupeville

Deactivated: 1922

Lens: Fourth Order Fresnel

Elevation: 127 feet

Keepers: William Robertson 1861-1864 / Dan Pearson 1864-1878 / Charles Daves 1900-1914 / Edward Scannell 1919 / Hans Score until 1922
 

Notes: In 1858 the United States purchased 10 acres of land costing $400 for the location of the lighthouse. The original lighthouse was completed during the months just prior to the Civil War and was among the West's earliest navigational aids. It had a fourth order Fresnel lens, and the light could be seen sixteen miles away. This light welcomed Puget Sound marine traffic to Admiralty Inlet. In 1890, with construction of the fort to protect Admiralty Inlet, the light was relocated, relinquishing the building and site to the U.S. Army. The original red wooden lighthouse was demolished to make room for soldiers and guns in Fort Casey.
The second lighthouse at Admiralty Head was built in a Spanish style and included a two-story dwelling that was linked to the base of a circular tower of roughly the same height, by a one-story foyer. Three bedrooms were located upstairs in the dwelling, while the kitchen, dining room, and a living room were downstairs. The lighthouse was activated on June 25, 1903. During its later occupancy by the Army, the lighthouse was used as a training facility for the K-9 dog program.
By the early 1920s, the bulk of marine traffic was powered by steam rather than wind, permitting the modern vessels to hug the western side of the inlet. The Admiralty Head Lighthouse was thus no longer of consequence, and the light was extinguished in 1922 after just nineteen years of service. In 1927, the lantern room was removed and placed atop the newly reconstructed tower of the New Dungeness Lighthouse. 
The Admiralty Head Lighthouse was vacant until World War II, when Fort Casey was reactivated. The lighthouse was painted olive drab and was used as living quarters. Following the war, the lighthouse again stood empty for a time before the Island County Historical Society initiated a restoration effort. The lighthouse was painted, and a replacement lantern room was built for the tower using vertical astragals rather than the more complex diagonal ones found in the original.
Today the lighthouse is a gift shop and a museum.


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