Today as you drive along the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway past the huge volcanic rock that marks Point Sur, it is hard to imagine just how isolated this area was in the 1800s. Most travelers and cargo moved between Los Angeles and points south and San Francisco and points north via the Pacific Ocean. It could be dangerous sailing around Point Sur - a headland that stuck out because of the big rock - but one that was hidden in fog and the dark of night.

Mariners petitioned the U.S. Lighthouse Service for more than 10 years before money was finally allocated for a lighthouse at Point Sur in 1886.

On August 1, 1889, the head keeper lit the lamp of the huge first order Fresnel lens inside the lantern room for the first time.

From the beginning, Point Sur was an important light station. In addition to the keeper, there were three assistants to operate the fog horn and lens 24 hours a day. It was a lonely outpost; supplies were delivered by Lighthouse Service tender about every four months and offloaded by small boat to the shore. The sacks and barrels were then hoisted in cargo nets to a platform at the base of the rock. Finally the supplies were then secured to a flat railcar and winched up to the dwelling area using a steam-driven engine.

The four keepers were each assigned a garden plot to supplement the supplies. It was not until 1939 that Highway 1 completed the route from Big Sur to Monterey.

The station was fully automated by 1974 when the last keeper left the station. In 1978 the 18-foot high, 2-ton original Fresnel lens was disassembled and moved to Monterey for display in the Allen Knight Maritime Museum.

The lighthouse upon the rock is now a California State Park and can be visited by walking tours year ‘round.