Monthly Bulletin May/June 2005 - Vol 8 No. 3

Loud past, quiet future

by Ron Cowan, Statesman Journal, USA, 1 May 2005

Tillamook Rock Lighthouse no longer guides ships. It doesn't have a light, but it does have a purpose... the interior has been transformed into a columbarium - a repository for human ashes, stored in urns placed on racks inside the light tower, more than 100 foot above the sea.

Tillamook Rock Lighthouse
Where: 1.2 miles seaward of Tillamook Head, south of Seaside, Oregon USA
Height: 133 feet above sea level, with an 82 foot high tower on a basalt rock islet
Built: 1881
Replaced: 1957 by a whistle buoy
Nickname: Terrible Tilly for its stormy reputation
Current use: Columbarium, a repository for human ashes
Public access: None
Closest viewing: Viewpoint on Tillamook Head near Hiker's Camp, a 1.25-mile hike up a steep, winding road that ascends 800 feet from Ecola State Park. The ruins of a World War II radar station are visible near the viewpoint. Seaside, Cannon Beach and Ecola State Park also offer views.

For the full article, visit http://www.discoveroregonlighthouses.com/tillamook.html