The Infamous Terrible Tilly:
An Exhibit at the Cannon Beach History Center & Museum
T
The Cannon Beach History
Center & Museum invites you to
explore the history of Oregon’s
most isolated lighthouse, the
Tillamook Rock Lighthouse. On a
secluded rock, just over a mile
from Oregon’s rocky shores lies the
Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, com-
monly referred to as Terrible Tilly.
Construction of the lighthouse
was no easy feat. Workers spent six
hundred arduous days building the
lighthouse before completing at the
end of 1880 - Tilly’s light shone for
the first time in 1881. She acted as a
warning beacon to thousands of
vessels skirting the coastline on their
way to the mouth of the Columbia
River. The Columbia River became a
busy part of marine commerce in the
mid-to-late 1800s. This was and is
still considered one of the most dan-
gerous river mouths in the world.
Ships lost to the sea were so com-
mon that the waters became known
as the Graveyard of the Pacific.
The Tillamook Rock Lighthouse
was an important part of the Colum-
bia’s marine routes, until 1957 when
she was decommissioned by the
U.S. Coast Guard. Lighthouse
keeper Oswald Allik, the last civilian
keeper, wrote in the logbook,
“Farewell, Tillamook Rock Light
Station. An era has ended. With
this final entry, and not without senti-
ment, I return thee to the elements.
You, one of the most notorious and
yet most fascinating of the sea-
swept sentinels in the world; long
the friend of the tempest-
tossed mariner. Through howling
gale, thick fog and driving rain your
beacon has been a star of hope and
your foghorn a voice of encourage-
ment. May the elements of nature
be kind to you. For 77 years you
have beamed your light across des-
olate acres of ocean. Keepers have
come and gone; men lived and
died; but you were faithful to the
end. May your sunset years be
good years. Your purpose is now
only a symbol, but the lives you have
saved and the service you have ren-
dered are worthy of the highest re-
spect. A protector of life and
property all, may old-timers, new-
comers and travelers along the way
pause from the shore in memory of
your humanitarian role. Oswald Allik
- September 1, 1957”
Some say that life after being
decommissioned was even more in-
teresting and unique than the life
spent protecting ships from shore.
From rumors of mob connected
owners, to grand ideas of a quiet va-
cation rental, to life as a place for the
dead to rest in peace. This exhibit is
well worth your time! This exhibit
closes May 15, 2015. The Cannon
Beach History Center & Museum is
open from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday through Monday.
Admission is by donation. For
more information visit www.cbhis-
tory.org or call 503-436-9301.
Connecting people
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ugh
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Enjoy the 15th A nnual
Cannon Beach History Center Museum presents:
The Infamous Terrible Tilly!
Spring Unveiling Art Festival
Stop by and le
arn about the
history of this
lighthouse wit
unique
h stories from
lighthouse ke
and even wha
epers,
t happened af
ter the lightho
decommission
use was
ed by the US
Coast Guard
in 1957
Betsy Johnson
State Senator District 16
sen.betsyjohnson@state.or.us
O PEN W ED - M ON
DON’T MISS
1:00 - 5:00 PM
IT!
E
x
h
ib
it
closes
1387 S. Spruce
May 15th
Cannon Beach, OR
Also enter our
chance to win an Spring Raffle. A $5 ticket bu
503-436-9301
ys you a
original glas
and created by
Jim Kingwell of s vase graciously donated
www.cbhistory.org raised will he or lp ig bu inal ild Ca a new and Ic im efir pr e ov G ed lass ex wo hibi rk t s. fo Fu r th nds
nnon Beach ca
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8 Spring Unveiling Arts Festival 2015 Cannon Beach
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