From The Daily Morning Astorian, Nov. 17, 1883:

• The bill to establish a lighthouse at Grays Harbor has passed the Washington Territory Legislature.

Note: Construction on the Grays Harbor Lighthouse, aka the Westport Light, in Westport, Washington, didn’t even start until 1897, and the light wasn’t lit for the first time until June 30, 1898, to great fanfare.

The 107-foot octagonal lighthouse has a 12-foot thick sandstone foundation, and the brick walls, covered on the outside with cement, are 4 feet thick at the base and taper up to 18 inches thick at the top.

The Fresnel lens came from Paris. The lens, although still there, has been replaced by a 35-watt lightbulb, visible 19 miles out at sea when white, 17 miles when red.

The lighthouse was 400 feet from the high tide line when it was built. Due to changes in sand movement caused by the jetties, it’s currently about 3,000 feet inland, surrounded by trees. It’s now owned by the Westport South Beach Historical Society, tours are available. (Photo: Albert Henry Barnes/University of Washington)