Yaquina Bay Lighthouse.

Newport, Oregon and The Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. It has been restored as a working lighthouse and a great place to stop if your ever in Newport.

A piece of Oregon history sits atop a bluff at the mouth of the Yaquina River. It is the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, built in 1871 and decommissioned in 1874. It was officially restored as a privately maintained aid to navigation on December 7, 1996.

It is believed to be the oldest structure in Newport. It is also the only existing Oregon lighthouse with the living quarters attached, and the only historic wooden Oregon lighthouse still standing.

It’s atop my list of must-see places on the Oregon Coast, simply for the incredible views you get, no matter the season or the weather. The lighthouse park is located in the shadow of the Yaquina Bay Bridge – another historic structure that recently celebrated its 75th anniversary. As you are travelling down Highway 101, right before you get on the bridge heading southbound, you can turn down to the Historic Bayfront. Instead of going left, like thousands of other coast visitors, head right and see the bluff and overlook where the lighthouse is located.

The lighthouse is accessible by paved trails and a walkway that leads to the top of the hill within the Yaquina Bay State Park, at the north end of Yaquina Bay. Inside the lighthouse, two flights of stairs lead to the watch room. There are also rooms filled with period decor that are awesome to see.

Like many coastal parks there are binoculars along the edge of the bluff, to look out and see ships entering the Yaquina River jetties or to see a whale migrating up and down the coast. There is plenty to view while you stand in the park, from coastal birds, to figuring out what a ship does – there is a robust commercial fishing and ocean research fleet in Newport.

The lighthouse is open year-round; however, it really depends on what you want to see. Summertime can offer some stunning views, but during the winter the waves crashing across the north and south jetties is something to behold.

Although some say the story is a work of fiction, Muriel Trevenard is the ghost who some believe to haunt Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. As the legend goes, Muriel was visiting the lighthouse with her friend Harold. As they left, she realized she left her handkerchief and went back in. Harold heard her scream and rushed in after her, but she was nowhere to be found.

Her father was an experienced seaman bound for Coos Bay, but the rough waters along Oregon’s coast had thrown his sloop off course as far north as the Columbia River bar. When the great ship sailed into Newport for fresh water, Trevenard expressed worry that his daughter was not as seaworthy as he hoped. His plan was to station her at a room in town and come back for her on his return trip. The girl’s luggage was accordingly lowered and taken to the house of a local couple, who agreed to keep her until her father returned. As time wore on, a group of young people made friends with the girl, inviting her to their camp and to come along on their many excursions around the area. One Sunday, when the group was idly wondering what to do with their day, someone came up with an idea. There was a lighthouse on the hill, the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, which had been built in 1871 but only recently was decommissioned. Why not go take a look at the abandoned building?

In 1899, when this story was first published, the bloodstains could still be seen in the old lighthouse.

Although the article had been forgotten for years, the story took on a life of its own, and many sightings of the ghostly girl have been recorded over the past 121 years. Muriel is said to be trapped in the lighthouse and has been seen looking out from the top of the light tower and from the windows of the living quarters.

For over a century, ghost stories have swirled around the lighthouse, locally know as Oregon’s most famous haunted lighthouse.

Another ghost story associated with the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse is about a whaling ship captain named Evan McClure, who was drowned when his ship crashed into nearby Devil’s Punchbowl during a raging storm in 1874. The old captain has been sighted many times at the base of the lighthouse, looking up to see the light that was supposed to have guided him to safety. Those who have saw Captain McClure say that he appears just as any living person would until he vanishes before their eyes. A variation of the story explains that the captain continued to follow the light of the lighthouse until his spirit became a part of it, and he then led many fellow sailors to safety.

Another story is that in the 1920s, Keeper Smith went into town and left Keeper Higgins in charge. But Higgins fell sick and asked Keeper Story to take over. When Smith saw from Newport that the lighthouse beacon wasn’t lit, he rushed back to find Higgins dead and Story drunk. Story, overtaken with guilt, feared the ghost of Higgins and from then on would take his bulldog up the tower with him.

Maybe a palusible tale, but unfortunately not supported by the facts that Story and Higgins didn’t serve at the same time at Yaquina Head and Higgins didn’t meet his demise in the lighthouse: Higgins left the service before 1920 and returned to live with his mother in Portland. Second Assistant Keeper did die of a heart attack in the watch room atop the tower in March 1921, but he too served before the arrival of Frank Story.

In any case, there are a multitude of reports from lighthouse employees, locals and visitors of having seen either Muriel or Captain McClure throughout the course of the past century. Often, visitors to the lighthouse describe an eerie sensation and feel like they are being watched while inside the building, and some people have heard strange whispers. Still others have seen lights flickering on the second floor after dark. Is Muriel still there, along with the possible ghost of Evan McClure or a former keeper? Most of the docents at the lighthouse say no, but those sensitive to spirits answer with a resounding yes.