Point Sur was a notorious hazard to navigation, and the site of many shipwrecks. In 1875, the USS Ventura ran onto rocks just north of Point Sur. Though the Venturas captain was drunk, the absence of a light contributed to the tragedy. The sinking of the Ventura became the impetus for building a lightstation in the remote area.
Construction
Point Sur Lighthouse opened on August 1, 1889. The station was very remote and was necessarily self-sufficient, as most supplies had to be brought in by ship. Lighthouse employees and their families had their own vegetable gardens. Children stayed with local ranchers during the week to attend school, returning home on weekends, or stayed with distant relatives. In 1927, a schoolteacher was assigned to the lightstation to teach the six children who resided there. When Highway One through Big Sur was completed in 1927, children could attend school at a school house on Highway 1. In the 1940s, children from the lightstation were assimilated into Big Sur's larger school. The Lighthouse Service was absorbed into the Coast Guard in 1939, and Point Sur Lighthouse became the property of the Coast Guard. The lightstation was automated in the late 1960s, and in 1974 ceased to have a light keeper. The coast off Point Sur Lighthouse was the location of the sinking of the United States Navyairship in 1935. Point Sur State Historic Park was established in 1986.
In 2000, the nearby Naval Facility Point Sur, except for one building retained by the U.S. Navy, was transferred to the CaliforniaState Park system. It became part of the Point Sur State Historic Park. The state park is currently using some of the facility's housing. The facility is not open to the public. On February 3, 2017, the California Historical Resources Commission nominated Naval Facility Point Sur for the National Register of Historic Places. It was chosen in part because Point Sur NAVFAC is one of the last remaining Sound Surveillance System facilities, and the only one remaining on the West Coast.
Tourism
The park contains California's only complete turn-of-the-20th-century lighthouse open to the public. Walking tours are held year-round on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays, and also on Thursdays during July and August. Tours are first-come, first-served; visitors are advised to arrive a half-hour before the tour.
Marine Protected Areas
are marine protected areas offshore from Point Sur Lighthouse. Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems.
