18 continued For 77 years you have beamed your light across desolate acres of ocean. Keepers have come and gone; men lived and died; but you were faithful to the end. May your sunset years be good years. an entirely different location which would have left ships quite vulnerable, with a long gap between existing lighthouses. Just over a mile offshore from Ecola State Park, “Tillamook Rock” became the number one candidate for the lighthouse. In 1879 efforts began to plan and construct the lighthouse. With construction spanning 575 days, the lighthouse was finally completed and lit. H.S. Wheeler, an engineer, was originally tasked with surveying the location, but after two landing attempts he was unable to get his surveying equipment onto the rock. Having been told not to come back until the work was finished, he completed a preliminary survey using a “tape line” and returned to shore. His initial work showed that a great deal of blasting would be required to be able to build on the rock, and before doing so a more complete survey would be required. At this point, the proposed work on Tillamook Rock was already controversial with the public, but that didn’t last long. The next survey crew to arrive at Tillamook Rock in September 1879 was led by John Roose Trewavas. Trewavas was a well-known stonemason and lighthouse builder who was tasked with both surveying the rock and developing the plan to build the lighthouse. Upon arrival, Trewavas stepped off the boat, lost his footing, and fell into the sea. Attempts to save him were unsuccessful and he was never seen again. News of his death spawned public outrage and the project actually moved forward in secrecy. Crews continued work, but were sequestered to avoid further public uprising. While work on the rock continued, it remained treacherous and crews worked in terrible conditions with little shelter, constant waves and wind, and the threat of being cast into the sea. Blasting to create the pad for the lighthouse took seven months and removed approximately 4,600 yards of rock. Only 12 days before the opening of the lighthouse, the ship Lupatia, lost in a gale, crashed into the Tillamook Rock and all 16 souls were lost with only the ship’s dog surviving the catastrophe. In January 1881, Terrible Tilly was lit for the first time and burned brightly until 1957, when it was replaced by a whistle buoy and ever-improving technology. Schematic of Tillamook Rock lighthouse plans, from 1881. The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 46, No. 3 The Lost Surveyor
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