Trinidad Head Light

The low, square, brick tower, painted white, was built in 1871.[5] The light is only 20 feet (6.1 m) above ground, but the headland on which it stands gives it an elevation of 196 feet (60 m) above the sea.[4] Despite the great height above the sea, heavy seas have been known to reach it. A huge wave hit the lighthouse at about 4:40pm local time on the afternoon of 31 December 1913.[6] In 1914,[7] the keeper made the following report:

"At 4:40 p. m. I observed a sea of unusual height. When it struck the bluff the jar was very heavy. The lens immediately stopped revolving. The sea shot up the face of the bluff and over it, until the solid sea seemed to me to be on a level with where I stood in the lantern. The sea itself fell over onto the top of the bluff and struck the tower about on a level with the balcony. The whole point between the tower and the bluff was buried in water."[8]

The wave he described was the highest recorded wave on the coast.[9] After the sea struck the lighthouse and extinguished the light, service was restored in four hours by Lightkeeper F.L. Harrington, the keeper from 1888 to 1916.[9]

The historic Bell House, the current location of the fog signal

The station originally consisted of the small two-story light tower, a single Victorian residence, and a small barn. In 1898, a bell house was constructed, and a 4,000-pound (1,800 kg) bell was added that was operated by weights. A second keeper was assigned at that time, and the quarters were expanded to accommodate two families. In 1947, the fog signal changed to an air horn. In 1949, the Trinidad Civic Club constructed a facsimile of the tower in a park overlooking the harbor and installed the original lens in its structure as a memorial to those lost or buried at sea. The 4,000-pound bell is displayed alongside the tower. In the late 1960s, the Coast Guard razed the original dwelling and barn and constructed the present triplex. The fog signal was discontinued when the station was automated in 1974. Complaints from the citizens of Trinidad Head were so vocal that the Coast Guard installed the present ELG 300, operated by a fog detector. The new fog signal is operated in the original bell house. The original tower remains essentially unchanged.[5]

The replica building along with the original lens was moved to tribal land at the bottom of the unstable bluff to prevent possible loss due to erosion.[10]

• Jeremiah Kiler (1871 – 1888)
• William A. Henderson (1888)
• Frederick L. Harrington (1888 – 1916)
• Josephine I. Harrington (1916)
• Edward Wiborg (1916 – at least 1930)
• Malcolm Cady (at least 1932 – 1940)
• Perry S. Hunter (1940 - at least 1946)[11]

The lighthouse was listed as Trinidad Head Light Station on the National Register of Historic Places on September 3, 1991, reference number 91001098. The 1900 fog-signal building is a contributing building, and the 1871 lighthouse tower is listed as a contributing structure. The 1969 keeper's building, which replaced the original keeper's residence, is non-contributing to the listing.

Other historic lighthouses in Humboldt County:

• Punta Gorda Light
• Cape Mendocino Light
• Table Bluff Light