HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
A surveyor died before construction started in 1880, the British barque Lupatia wrecked nearby killing all 16 crew, and keepers worked 76 years in harrowing isolation — now viewable from Ecola State Park shore.
Ecola State Park (viewing point), Cannon Beach, OR 97110
Research updated August 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Ecola State Park day-use fee applies (Oregon State Parks standard rate). The lighthouse itself is privately owned and not publicly accessible.
Access
Limited Access
Ecola State Park trail to the viewpoint involves uneven coastal terrain. The lighthouse is 1.2 miles offshore on an isolated basalt rock; no public access.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1881 · Construction surveyor death before first stone laid (1880) · Lupatia shipwreck with 16 crew lost during construction (1881) · 76 years of isolated lighthouse service (1881–1957) · Eternity at Sea Columbarium 1980–1999
The decision to build a lighthouse on Tillamook Rock was driven by the hazards of the sea approach to the Columbia River mouth, one of the most dangerous on the Pacific Coast. The Lighthouse Board authorized construction in 1880. Surveyor John R. Trewavas drowned in September 1880 while attempting to land on the rock during the site survey — the first death associated with the project, before a single stone was laid.
Construction proceeded under engineer H. S. Wheeler through extraordinary conditions: workers were lowered by rope to the rock and lived on the exposed basalt for the duration. On January 3, 1881, while construction was still underway, the British barque Lupatia was caught in a storm making for the Columbia River and wrecked on the rocks near Tillamook. All 16 members of her crew were lost. Keepers working inside the partially finished lighthouse watched the ship go down and were unable to help.
The lighthouse was lit on January 21, 1881. During its 76 years of operation, keepers worked in extreme isolation — the rock is fully exposed to Pacific storm swells, and resupply was frequently impossible for weeks at a time. Waves periodically broke over the lantern room, 133 feet above mean sea level. The lighthouse was decommissioned by the Coast Guard in 1957 and replaced by an offshore buoy.
In 1980 a private company purchased the lighthouse and operated it as the Eternity at Sea Columbarium, interring cremated remains of paying customers in the structure. The operation was controversial and financially troubled; the state of Oregon ultimately required the remains to be moved, and the columbarium formally closed in 1999. The lighthouse is now privately owned and in poor condition, visible from shore but not accessible to the public.
Sources
The lighthouse's nickname — 'Terrible Tilly' — was earned during its operational years, coined by the keepers themselves in reference to the rock's brutal conditions. Paranormal accounts emerged from former keepers and were later compiled by Oregon Coast journalist Cheryl McLean for the Beach Connection.
Four keepers at different postings reported seeing a ghost ship near the lighthouse, described as a vessel in distress that would vanish before rescue could be attempted — an image that aligns with the Lupatia wreck of January 1881. The same accounts include moaning sounds rising from the base of the rock that keepers could not attribute to wind or water noise alone.
The most specific account involves a keeper who described being chased up the tower stairs by an unseen presence he characterized as malicious rather than merely unsettling. Whether this represents a documented named keeper or an undated keeper account is not confirmed in available sources.
Travel Oregon's feature on the lighthouse collects these stories alongside the documented history of surveyor Trewavas's death and the Lupatia loss, presenting both the recorded history and the paranormal tradition without conflating them. The lighthouse can no longer be visited; the lore circulates through coastal journalism, Oregon history publications, and the persistent visibility of the structure from Ecola State Park.
Notable Entities
The lighthouse sits 1.2 miles offshore on Tillamook Rock. On clear days it is clearly visible from the bluff trail inside Ecola State Park. Interpretive panels at the park cover the history of the Oregon coast but not specifically the lighthouse. Bring binoculars.
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