Turn Point Lighthouse and Museum
Type: Lighthouses
Owner: Turn Point Lighthouse Preservation Society
Phone: 360-376-5246
Designation*: N/A
Built: 1936
Location: Stuart Island State Park, Friday Harbor
Map and directions (Courtesy Google Maps)
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday; Noon to 4 p.m.
Admission: Donation

*DOE=Designated eligible; NR=National Register of Historic Places; NHL=National Historic Landmark; WHR=Washington Heritage Register; City=Local city; County=Local county; N/A=Not applicable

Comments from site users
2/6/2008 1 out of 5
The Turn Point Lighthouse is owned by the Coast Guard and managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The Turn Point Lighthouse Preservation Society helps to care for it.

1/31/2008 4 out of 5
Good Info!

Ships following Haro Strait on their way to the Strait of Juan de Fuca make a sharp turn at Turn Point in Stuart Island. The government established a lighthouse at the point in 1893, beginning as a lantern and a Daboll fog signal. A small keeper’s house was built just uphill from the lantern tower. In 1936, the lantern and foghorn were updated and placed in a concrete tower. The light was automated in 1974.

In early 1897, the lighthouse keepers found themselves in the midst of a mutiny. They watched the tug Enterprise founder within view of the lighthouse. They rowed out to the tug in a skiff, and found everyone but the captain drunk. One of the crew brandished a knife, holding the others captive. The keepers overpowered the mad sailor and hosted the crew from the foundered tug at their house for three days. Today, scientists from the University of Washington use the site to study migrating orcas. The site is accessible only by boat.