Punta Gorda Light Station: Only Yesterday

The California coast north of Point Arena indents to the east in a long sweeping arc for some 75 miles before emerging at a bump known as Punta Gorda. Some ten miles north of this protrusion is Cape Mendocino, one of the most westerly points on the west coast and a major turning point for vessels that engaged in the coastal trade in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The most obvious place for a light station was Cape Mendocino and a lighthouse was constructed there in 1870. However, in the ensuing years many north bound vessels never reached Cape Mendocino having stranded on the shoals off Punta Gorda.