Elleda Wilson: Desdemona Sands
Aug. 11—Since National Lighthouse Day was on Sunday, it seems like a good time to honor a now long-gone lighthouse, Desdemona Sands. It was built to join the other lighthouses warning of the Graveyard of the Pacific, Cape Disappointment, North Head and Point Adams. The lighthouse, and the sandy shoal it sat on in the Columbia River, were named after the Desdemona, a ship that ran aground there on Jan. 1, 1857.
Completed in 1902, and built on pilings, the lighthouse was a one and half story octagonal building; atop it was a lantern room with a fixed white light. Attached was a small building for the fog signal and an annex. The only other amenities were a water cistern and a boat to get back to Astoria. The lightkeeper was not allowed to bring his family along; they remained ashore.
Once the lighthouse had electricity in 1935, the light and foghorn could be operated from land, so there was no more need for a lightkeeper. In 1942, the structure was taken down, and replaced by a navigational aid. In the mid-1960s, the foundation was removed. The lighthouse lens is now at the Mukilteo Lighthouse; the original fog bell is at the Columbia River Maritime Museum.
All that's left on the original site are the stubbles of some pilings, clearly visible from the Astoria Bridge at low tide. (Photo: U.S. Lighthouse Society Archives)
