Report for Mare Island Light Station (California) - 1907
| General |
| District: | 12th |
| Inspector: | Kate C. McDougal, Keeper |
| Location: | On extreme S end of Mare Island, CA., at entrance from San Pablo Bay to Carquinez Strait. Compass bearings Benicia (Rocky Point) E 1/4 S; Point Pinole SW 5/8 S |
| Date of Report: | 07/02/1907 |
| Latitude: | N 38° 04' 19" |
| Longitude: | W 122° 15' 19" |
| Premises |
| Site: | Naval Reservation |
| Date of Reservation: | |
| Date of Deed: | |
| Date of Permission: | 06/18/1873 |
| Date of Lease: | |
| Area of the Entire Site: | 4.7 acres |
| Area Inclosed: | 4.7 acres |
| Character of Soil: | Clay |
| Distance of tower from Nearest High-Water Mark: | 76' above sea level |
| Inclosures to Premises / Type of Fence: | Stable yard, chicken yard, & garden |
| Wharf or Landing on Premises: | Wharf |
| Road to Land or Wharf Chararacter of and Distance: | No road, a path along track for hoisting car about 60' from tower. |
| Means to Reach Light Station: | By boat ot wharf & by road from Mare Island Navy yard. |
| Distance to Nearest Road: | Distance by road to main gate of Navy yard about 3 miles. |
| Distance to Post Office: | About 3.5 miles to Vallejo PO |
| Distance to Village: | About 3.5 miles to Vallejo |
| Facilities for Public Conveyance: | S.P. train to Vallejo, or Monticello Steamship Co. boats to Vallejo from San Francisco |
| Facilities for Private Conveyance: | Drive from Vallejo, across ferry to Mare Island Navy Yard, & thence 3 miles by road. |
| Means Used for Support of Lantern: | Tower built with dwelling |
| Number of Separate Lights: | 1 |
| First Built or Established: | 1873; Light 1st exhibited Sept. 1, 1873 |
| Last Rebuilt, Repaired, or Renovated: | New stable built 1903. Brick chimneys & illuminating apparatus repaired after 1906 earthquake. |
| Condition at This Date: | Generally good |
| Shape of Tower in Plan: | Square |
| Form of Tower: | |
| Height from Base to Ventilator Ball: | |
| Height of Focal Plane Above Mean High Water: | 76' |
| Background of Lighthouse as Seen from Sea: | Hills to N rise to height of about 300' above water, forming a dark background |
| Color of Tower: | White, lead color trimmings |
| Color of Tower/ How Produced: | Paint |
| Tower Connection: | Built as part of dwelling |
| Object of Navigation: | Channel |
| Building Materials: | Wood & iron |
| General Description: | |
| Wall Thickness at Base: | |
| Wall Thickness at Parapet: | |
| Diameter at Base: | |
| Diameter at Parapet: | |
| Kind of Stairway and Steps: | Wooden stairway & steps |
| Number of Landings: | No landings of tower stairway, 1 landing, dwelling |
| Size of Glass: | 12 x 10 |
| Number of Windows and Size of Sash: | 7; oil room - 1 - 2' 3.5" x 2' 10"; Watchroom - 6- 2' 3.5" x 2' |
| Number of Doors: | |
| Kind of Foundation and Depth Below Surface: | Brick |
| Character of Soil Surrounding the Lighthouse: | Clay |
| Soil Susceptibility: | Yes, by grass, shrubbery & trees |
| Miscellaneous Remarks: |
| Lantern and Fixtures |
| Order of Lantern: | 4th |
| Shape of Lantern: | Cylindrical |
| Diameter to Glass: | About 7' |
| Diameter in the Clear: | |
| Number of Sides: | 10 |
| Type of Bars: | Vertical |
| Thickness of Bars: | |
| Height Glazed: | 3' 4/5" |
| Number of Plates in Height: | One |
| Number of Plates Each Side: | One |
| Thickness of Plates: | 1/4" |
| Size of Plates: | 3' 2/5" x 2' 1/10" |
| Number of Storm Panes: | None |
| Unglazed Side of Lantern: | None |
| What Bearings: | |
| Construction Material Lantern: | Iron sheathed or lined inside with tongue & groove wooden boards 3.5" wide by 4' 1" high |
| Construction Material Roof / Cowl: | Iron, painted black outside, polygonal, surmounted by ventilator ball. Inside ceiled with 10 metal sheets painted white |
| Ventilator / Cowl: | Iron |
| Lightning Spindle: | None |
| Description of Lightning Rod: | None |
| Balustrade: | Wooden balustrade painted black - floor of outside gallery covered with copper sheathing, painted roof red. |
| Lantern Doors: | 1 iron door fitted with brass bolt & spring. |
| Floor of Lantern: | Wooden boards, t&g (3.5" boards). Floor painted lead color & covered with linoleum. |
| Watchroom Doors: | Ordinary wooden door, fitted with common door lock with brown porcelain knobs |
| Parapet Diameter: | 7' 3" |
| Ventilators |
| Location / Number: | 4 brass ventilators set in upper part of wall. just below plate glass frames which work on screws with thumb screw to turn on & off. |
| Ladders / Cleaning Arrangement: | None |
| Curtain Hooks / Hanger: | Are screwed in, apparently with nuts, to iron pane. |
| Watchroom |
| How is Watchroom Fitted: | Has no fittings. Walls are wainscoted with t&g boards. 3' 6.5" high, inc. weather boarding & moulding finish; from there up it is plastered throughout. Wainscoting is painted white, walls & ceiling light yellow & floor & stairs lead colored. |
| How is Relief Called: | Electric bell in laborers room connected with main dwelling. |
| Where is Call System Led: |
| Illuminating Apparatus |
| Kind of Apparatus: | |
| Intensity in Candles: | |
| Name of Maker: | L. Sautter, Lemmonier & Co., Paris |
| Year Made: | No date |
| Marks and Number: | None |
| Order of Apparatus: | 4th |
| Inside Diameter: | 19 7/10" |
| Light Characteristic: | Fixed white |
| Time of Revolution: | |
| Flash Interval: | |
| Duration of Flash: | |
| Arc of Each Fixed Part: | Illuminates 203 degrees of horizon. Light is visible W by S 258 degrees 45'; NE by E 56 degrees 15'. Fixed white. |
| Number of Panels: | 6. 1 panel is constructed differently from the others & opens to receive lamp. |
| Number of Flash Panels: | |
| Arc of Each: | |
| Number of Elements in Central Drum: | 1 |
| Number of Prisms Above Center Drum: | 8 |
| Number of Prisms Below Center Drum: | 6 |
| Does Apparatus Revolve?: | False |
| Is There a Revolving Belt?: | False |
| Revolving Panels: | |
| How Flash is Produced: | |
| Number of Vertical Elements Panel: | |
| Fixed Lens Covered: | |
| Pedestal: | Iron |
| Service Table: | Iron or steel |
| Draft Tube Description: | Copper, but does not extend to ventilator ball; tube is 2" dia. & connected with damper tube by rod which turns damper. Rod has ring at end which fastens to hook set in upper metal ring of lend. Copper tube held in place thru ctr of up. ring by 3 fittings |
| Revolving Machinery: | |
| Standby and Description: | |
| Chariot Float or Balls: | |
| Chariot Description: | |
| Length of Drop Tube: | |
| Clock Weight: | |
| Length of Winding Time: | |
| Drive During Rewind: | |
| Machinery Protection: | |
| Regulated: | |
| Lens Protection: | |
| How Color is Produced: | |
| Red Sectors Description: | |
| Where Color Attached: | |
| Form of Colored Glass: | |
| Lamp Description: | 4th order lamp, 1 wick to burner, size of wick 1.5" Consumes 1.7 gills of oil/hr & 243 gallons of oil/summer. |
| Type of Illuminant: | |
| Number of Spare Lamps: | 4 |
| Number of Spare Burners: | Each lamp is fitted with burner. No others on hand |
| Candle Power: |
| Closets and Store Rooms |
| Tower Closet Use: | 1 closet under stairway leading from oil room to watchroom fitted with 3 shelves & hooks. 2 lockers fitted with shelves in oil room in each side of window, used for materials to work with - to keep various useful articles convenient & in good condition. |
| Oil House Description: | Brick house with wood & tin roof, situated about 50' NW from lighthouse. It is fitted with shelves & used exclusively for keeping oil cases. |
| Oil House Inside Dimension: | |
| Oil House Construction Material: | |
| Oil House Capacity: | |
| Other (Describe): | 1 closet in room used as dining room on ground floor. Closet is fitted with shelves & used as china closet. No other closets or storerooms. |
| Suitability: | Suitable |
| Fog Signal General |
| Fog Signal Kind: | Gamewell fog bell striking apparatus No. 2 machine. |
| Time to Start: | 1 minute |
| How Long Will Pressure Last: | |
| Manufacturer: | Gamewell Fire Alarm Telegraph Co., NY |
| Year of Manufacture: | |
| Characteristic: | Bell struck by machinery every 10 seconds. |
| Duplication: | None |
| Timing Device: | |
| If whistle, siren, or trumpet, Pressure at Which Blown: | |
| Height Above Water: | |
| Compass Direction: | |
| Location: | On S end of wharf. Est. to guide by sound during foggy weather navigating in & out of San Pablo Bay, Mare Island Strait & Carquinez Strait. |
| Distance and Direction: | 200' S of lighthouse |
| Water Supply: | |
| Reached from Lighthouse: | Path & steps to wharf. |
| Description of Fog Signal Building: | Small frame house painted white, lead color trimmings, shingled roof painted red, window & door on W side. Bell outside of house proper, with roof extending over bell. Weights supported by 2 wooden uprights. |
| Pressure And Recording Gauge: |
| Bell Signal |
| Weight: | |
| Metal: | Bell metal |
| Diameter: | 3' 9" |
| Height: | 2' 9" |
| Time: | |
| Manufacturer: | J Bernhard, Philadelphia, PA, 1855 |
| Weights for Operation: |
| Dwelling |
| Location: | Keeper's dwelling & lighthouse are built together. Tower rises from center of bldg. |
| Coloring: | White, lead color trimmings, red roof. |
| Construction Materials: | Wood & brick |
| Number of Rooms: | Ground floor- 4, + bath, pantry & hall; 2nd floor - 3 rooms & hall. |
| Number of Dwellings: | |
| Heating Plant: | |
| Number of Keepers: | 1 keeper & 1 laborer |
| Furnished Quarters: | |
| NOT Furnished Quarters: | |
| Outhouses: | Stable, chicken-house, wood sheds, latrine, old & new f.s. bldgs, tide gauge house (belongs to Navy yard), & oil house |
| Outhouse Coloring: | All white with lead color trim. Chicken house & wood sheds are whitewashed |
| Paths and Walks: | Boardwalk leads to stable from cement pavement before dwelling. Another boardwalk leads to garden & joins short cement walk from latrine |
| Area Inclosed: | 4.7 acres. enclosed by barbed wire fence on E, N & W sides. S side has bluff down to waters edge. Picket fence separates stable yard from garden & dwelling. |
| Area of Garden: | About 300 sq. ft. |
| Area Timber or Shrubbery: | Nearly all in sage-brush except where cleared for bldgs, garden & yards |
| Cultivation Area Available: | About 500 sq. ft. |
| Area Cultivated: | About 500 sq.ft. |
| Character of Surroundings: | Clay |
| Stove, Maker: | |
| Stove, Size: | |
| Sink, Maker: | |
| Sink, Size: | |
| Pump, Maker: | |
| Pump, Size: | |
| Lamps: |
| Water |
| How Procured: | By pipe from Vallejo Water Co., & rain water collected from roofs of house & cement watershed on hill. |
| Quality: | Good |
| Quantity: | Ample |
| Injury Possible: | No |
| Purity Precaution: | By running off first rain water of season from roof. |
| Tank Capacity: | 2 cisterns for rain water N of dwelling; 1 - 10,000 gal, 1 - 8,000 gal. 1 tank, 15,000 gal NW of stable. |
| Tank Material: | Tank redwood, cisterns cement. |
| Distilling Apparatus: | False |
| Distilling Manufacturer: | |
| Well Description: | |
| Well Diameter: | |
| Well Lining: | |
| Pump or Bucket: | Pump installed in largest cistern. |
| What Power Used: | |
| Distance from Dwelling: |
| Healthfulness |
| General Opinion: | Healthful |
| Diseases: | None |
| Prevalency: | No |
| Local Causes: | No |
| Recommended Improvements: |
| Miscellaneous |
| Access to Lighthouse: | Wharf about 130' entire length, with T at end about 60' x 20'. Hoisting steps on E side of wharf at angle of T. |
| Distance and Direction: | Beginning of wharf is about 70' S of lighthouse. |
| Miscellaneous Remarks: | Premises, tower, bldgs & illuminating apparatus at this date are generally in good condition. Illuminating apparatus was somewhat injured by the earthquake, but since repairs were made, appears of same illuminating cap as before. |
| Hoisting Engines |
| Hoisting Engine Kind: | Windlass |
| Engine RPMs: | |
| Engine Diameter: | |
| Engine Stroke: | |
| Engine Boiler: | |
| Engine Maker and Date: | |
| Serial Number: | |
| Cylinders and Size: | |
| Horsepower: | |
| Fuel: | |
| Hoist Starter: | |
| Hoist Miscellaneous: |