Destruction Island is located forty miles north of Grays Harbor on the Washington Coast. Its lighthouse, first lit in 1891, has been an important aid to navigation for mariners transiting the Pacific coastline for over one hundred years. The crews of early sailing vessels, tug boats, log ships, fishing boats and pleasure craft have all used lighthouse, both by day and night, to mark their location and warn them of rocky dangers near shore.

Destruction Island Lighthouse Lens
Photo by Thor Lauritzen

The United States Coast Guard offered the Westport Maritime Museum an opportunity to be the keepers of the lens, which was removed from Destruction Island in 1995, being replaced by a modern, automated light. This lens is a first-order Fresnel type. In December 1998, the museum opened a new Destruction Island Lens exhibit that affords visitors a unique opportunity to see this spectacular historic object lit and rotating.