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Cape Arago Lighthouse

The Cape Arago Light (originally called the Cape Gregory Light) is a lighthouse located near Coos Bay 2.6 miles north of Cape Arago. With the arrival of white settlers to Coos Bay, it soon became one of the more important harbors along the Oregon Coast. Coos Bay was an important shipping point on the west coast of the United States. The amount of shipping at the time warranted the building of a light at the location, and in 1866, a light was illuminated. This first tower, which housed a fourth-order Fresnel lens, stood 25-feet high on just a skeleton base. The tower was located on the west end of an island, and was connected to the keeper's residence by way of a 1,300-foot wooden walkway.