Admiralty Head Lighthouse – Coupeville, Washington

On your Washington vacation you may want to take the time to go visit the Admiralty Head Lighthouse. The history of the lighthouse is really quite interesting, covering a time period from 1861 until today.

The era of the Spanish-American War saw the lighthouse being used to keep the unfriendly ships from entering the strait and to assist the friendly ones in coming though to deliver goods to the shore. It was also used during WWII as living quarters for the troops.

The original lighthouse was torn down in 1928 and the new one in the Spanish style was built to replace it. It is no longer used as a lighthouse since the days when steam engines replaced the need to use wind and this allowed the ships to hug the western side of the inlet. Today it is a gift shop and museum which will give you a good education on the life of the manager of the lighthouse from 1861 through it being shut down in 1922.