Destruction Island
Destruction Island
Information
A mile south of Ruby Beach is the Destruction Island
viewpoint. During clear weather, the light of the
Destruction Island lighthouse can be seen for 24 miles.
This rugged, half-mile long, 300-foot wide island was used as an anchorage by two Spanish ships on July 14, 1775. While anchored under the lee of this island, the Spanish explorer, Bodega y Quadra sent a small boat's crew of seven men ashore on the mainland three miles away for wood and water. The party was massacred by Indians and their boat stolen. He named it the Island of Sorrows and sailed away. In 1787, Captain Barkley (Barclay), in the Austrian East India Company's ship, Imperial Eagle, also sent a party ashore from the island to the same fate. He named the river where the massacre took place the Destruction River. The name was transferred to the lonely island when the river was called by its Indian name, the Hoh. A 94-foot lighthouse was built on Destruction Island in 1889-91 in what was said to have been the most costly lighthouse project on the west
This rugged, half-mile long, 300-foot wide island was used as an anchorage by two Spanish ships on July 14, 1775. While anchored under the lee of this island, the Spanish explorer, Bodega y Quadra sent a small boat's crew of seven men ashore on the mainland three miles away for wood and water. The party was massacred by Indians and their boat stolen. He named it the Island of Sorrows and sailed away. In 1787, Captain Barkley (Barclay), in the Austrian East India Company's ship, Imperial Eagle, also sent a party ashore from the island to the same fate. He named the river where the massacre took place the Destruction River. The name was transferred to the lonely island when the river was called by its Indian name, the Hoh. A 94-foot lighthouse was built on Destruction Island in 1889-91 in what was said to have been the most costly lighthouse project on the west
Destruction Island
coast, costing
$85,000.
The walls taper from a thickness of four feet at the bottom to 18-inches at the top, and is sheathed in metal that was fitted and bolted together. It's 115 steps up the spiral staircase to the top. A small tramway was built to transport supplies from the dock to the top of the island. The light was automated in 1968.
Today, Destruction Island is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife sanctuary. Its beaches are crowded with seals and sea lions, and it's populated by bald eagles, nesting seabirds, shrew moles, that are unique to the island, and rabbits. The rabbits, some as large as 15-20 pounds, are descendants of pets reportedly kept by one of the lighthouse keepers' daughters.
The walls taper from a thickness of four feet at the bottom to 18-inches at the top, and is sheathed in metal that was fitted and bolted together. It's 115 steps up the spiral staircase to the top. A small tramway was built to transport supplies from the dock to the top of the island. The light was automated in 1968.
Today, Destruction Island is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife sanctuary. Its beaches are crowded with seals and sea lions, and it's populated by bald eagles, nesting seabirds, shrew moles, that are unique to the island, and rabbits. The rabbits, some as large as 15-20 pounds, are descendants of pets reportedly kept by one of the lighthouse keepers' daughters.