Point Hueneme Lighthouse

Point Hueneme and Anacapa Island mark the eastern entrance to Southern California's Santa Barbara Chan nel. Long recognized as a dangerous channel, Spanish explorers and early California mariners elected to steer a course south of the Channel Islands rather than risk the sudden onset of dense fog, shifting winds and uncertain currents. It wasn't until after the discovery of gold in 1848, and the rapid settling of the coastal communities Hueneme, San Buenaventura and Santa Barbara, that the navigation of the channel became necessary. The period between 1849 and the early 1900's, when railroads became popular, was marked by a small armada of schooners and steamers serving the coastal communities.