Mare Island Light Station: Only Yesterday

By the 1870's San Francisco Bay was teeming with ship traffic. Vessels arriving from other states and foreign lands called at the Port of San Francisco and the inland ports of Sacramento, Stockton and other inland cities. The increase in vessel traffic necessitated more aids to navigation along the waterways. One site was at the confluence of San Pablo Bay and Mare Island Strait. The Mare Island station served to assist navigators make the turn from San Pablo Bay through Carquinez Strait on voyages into the Sacramento Delta as well as assist vessels navigate Mare Island Strait, home of the Mare Island shipyard.