Crescent City, California - Come Back Town USA

It happens to be one of the places that the annual whale counting is done from twice each year during the migrations north and south.



that's a whale of a tale! Er, Tail of a Whale, I mean!



Best to see this from a distance -- smells pretty bad up close and personal!

The wreck of the Brother Jonathan Steamer is one of the legends of Crescent City and Del Norte County. Easily as "romantic" a story as the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald as immortalized in Gordon Lightfoot's song of the same name, I don't think anybody ever wrote about this most tragic tale.

The Brother Jonathan was making a run from San Franciso to Portland, Oregon, and on to Victoria, B.C. when she hit a powerful storm that made passengers (and probably crew as well) seasick and frightened. The steamer anchored right here in the (then undeveloped) harbor early Sunday morning, but after leaving that Sunday afternoon, more stormy conditions erupted. Near the California-Oregon border (about 15 miles north of the harbor) it got so bad that the Captain ordered the ship turned around to return to the safety of the Crescent City harbor.

Just under one hour later, nearly back into safe waters, the ship struck the rock and there was no stopping the water that rushed in through the large hole in the hull. Moments later the Captain issued an "ABANDON SHIP!" order. The horrible outcome was that although the craft carried ample lifeboats for all aboard, they were only able to get three of them off the boat, and even that ended in tragedy: the first capsized, and the second was smashed against the sides of the ship in the murderous waves. Only one of the three made it to shore - carrying eleven crew, five women, and three children.

This shipwreck is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and the memorial park is a much beloved point of interest. Located at the end of 9th street, it also happens to be one of the best whale watching sites on the Pacific Coast and is one of the official "Sea Grant" whale counting sites twice each year.

This disaster was the impetus behind the building of the St. George Reef Lighthouse, which ended up being the most expensive and dangerous lighthouse in America (and quite possibly in the world).


The St. George Reef Lighthouse sits only a few miles off shore

The Battery Point Lighthouse is located on a small island at the end of "A" Street. When we have a lighthouse keeper (we have been between keepers at times; it's not easy to get people to live out there for what we can pay 'em) it and the museum out there are open to the public for tours. You have to wait for low tide, however, to reach it, and while the walk isn't exceptionally long or steep, it's not exactly a walk in the park to get out there.



Looks larger from the air than it does when you are walking on it!

Once there, you can take the tour and take a peek into the living quarters of the keepers and see some of the artifacts left behind by keepers of yesteryear. If you are physically able, don't miss the chance to climb up and see the lens! The view is breathtaking, and there aren't that many opportunities to be that close to a real operational lighthouse beacon.

There's over 150 years of history on that rock. First lighting was on December 10, 1856 with oil lamps. It now serves as a private aid to navigation with electric lights. Until 1936, it was overseen by the United States Lighthouse Service. Then the U.S. Coast Guard (which still has a station in C.C.) took over. The light was automated in 1953.





The '64 tidal wave (tsunami) terrified the resident keepers, and they provided an eye witness account. I suspect the records they left were part of the research Mr. Powers used to write his book about the Tsunami. (See it featured elsewhere on this page -- it's a good read!)

The Lens was a 20K candle power Drumm Lens with an electric light until it was decommissioned in 1965; don't know if the decommissioning had anything to do with the 64 tidal wave destruction, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did. No light came from the lighthouse from 1965 until 1982 when it was relit as a private navigational aid.

There is a local legend about a ghost said to haunt the residence; many of the keepers have corroborated the story. I, myself, have never seen or heard him or her, but as I've never been a keeper there, who am I to say the keepers who swear it's there are wrong?

Battery Point Lighthouse is photographed and captured on canvas many times each year. Bring your camera or your paint box and she'll be happy to pose for you, too.

Crescent City holds the dubious distinction of being the only US City to have been destroyed by a tsunami, or tidal wave.

The Great Alaskan Earthquake in March of 1964 generated a great tsunami that caused great damage in Alaska, along Vancouver Island, and northern California. The waves were 7 to 21 feet high; Crescent City was hardest hit, with 11 deaths.

You can read more about the tsunami on NPR here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5007869

What made this video (featured below) special to me, is that the 2 fellows in it are folks I know.

Lyle Corliss has been a local farrier (he shoes horses) and our favorite auctioneer at the annual 4-H Soup Supper and Country Auction for years.

Randy Otremba is one of my sister's neighbors; plus, she went to school with his little brother, who was a friend of my brother.

This log would make an awesome traveling educational exhibit, or even a side-show exhibit on the fair circuit. Pictures don't really do it justice; if you've never stood alongside a redwood log, you may have a hard time imagining a tree like this.

One end has a diameter of over 14 feet, with an opening of nearly 11 feet and that's the SMALL end! The other is over 20 feet across with an opening of 13 feet. The log is darned near 26 feet long, and weighs about 60 TONS. This log is one of a kind.

So, six degrees of separation and all that, who knows somebody who can afford to purchase and give this amazing log the home it deserves?