Guided Tour Booking Required
Lighthouse Keeper's Quarters Tour
Seasonal docent-led tour of the keeper's quarters and grounds, operated by the Point Wilson Lighthouse non-profit. Schedule varies.
- Duration:
- 1 hr
Outdoor / Natural Site
Point Wilson Lighthouse
An active U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse on Point Wilson at Fort Worden State Park, with keeper's quarters available for tours, associated with the spirit of Maria Hastings Littlefield seeking her drowned son.
Point Wilson Rd, Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend, WA 98368
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free to view from public park; tours of the keeper's quarters offered seasonally via the Point Wilson Lighthouse non-profit. Discover Pass required for state park access.
Access
Limited Access
Sandy / paved approach within Fort Worden State Park; tower interior access via stairs only.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1879 · Active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation since 1879; current concrete tower dates to 1914 · Marks the entrance to Admiralty Inlet — among the most important navigational lights in Washington · Listed on the National Register of Historic Places · Documented in the Library of Congress HABS/HAER collection
Point Wilson Light has marked the entrance to Admiralty Inlet — the waterway linking the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Puget Sound — since 1879. The current 46-foot reinforced concrete tower dates to 1914, replacing the original 1879 wood structure. The station remains an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation, one of the most important on the inland waters of Washington State.
The first keeper of Point Wilson was David M. Littlefield (1840-1913), appointed in 1879 at a salary of $800 per year. In 1869 Littlefield had married Maria C. Hastings (1850-1912), eldest daughter of Loren B. Hastings (1814-1881), one of Port Townsend's founders. Their son, Loren Littlefield, drowned on October 6, 1900, at age twelve.
Maria Hastings Littlefield died July 1, 1912. The lighthouse sits within what is now Fort Worden Historical State Park, established as a military post in 1898 and converted to a state park in the 1970s. The keeper's quarters are now maintained by the Point Wilson Lighthouse non-profit, which offers seasonal tours and stewardship programming.
The Point Wilson Light Station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is documented in the Library of Congress HABS/HAER collection.
Sources
- https://www.historylink.org/File/5680
- https://www.pointwilsonlighthouse.org/post/hauntings-at-point-wilson
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Wilson_Light
- https://www.loc.gov/item/wa0724/
- https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=108
Reported sightings of a woman in a long gown in the keeper's quartersReported opening of drawers and closets attributed to a presenceReported shadowy female figure seen in periphery
Lore at Point Wilson Lighthouse is unusually well-documented for a state-park lighthouse: the property's stewarding non-profit publishes a 'Hauntings at Point Wilson' page on its own website that gathers reports across decades of Coast Guard families who lived in the keeper's quarters. The recurring figure is Maria Hastings Littlefield, eldest daughter of Port Townsend founder Loren B. Hastings and wife of the lighthouse's first keeper David Littlefield.
According to those accounts, Maria has been reported drifting through the keepers' house, opening drawers and closets — a behavior local lore connects to her search for her only son, Loren, who drowned at age twelve on October 6, 1900. Maria herself died July 1, 1912. Multiple Coast Guard wives and keeper's-family members have separately reported a woman in a long gown and a shadowy female figure seen in their peripheral vision while moving through the residence.
The PNW Haunts & Homicides podcast covered Point Wilson in detail, contributing additional secondary documentation. Because the lore is rooted in documented family history — confirmed dates of death for both mother and son in the historical record — and is repeated across multiple independent Coast Guard family accounts, this is among the better-corroborated lighthouse hauntings in the Pacific Northwest.
Notable Entities
Maria Hastings Littlefield (1850-1912)Loren Littlefield (drowned October 6, 1900, age 12)David M. Littlefield (1840-1913, first keeper)
Media Appearances
- PNW Haunts & Homicides podcast feature on Point Wilson
Plan Your Visit
2 ways to experience Outdoor Exploration
Point Wilson Beach & Lighthouse Walk
Walk the beach and grounds around the active Coast Guard light. Excellent views of Admiralty Inlet and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
- Duration:
- 1 hr
Sources & Further Reading
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Similar Destinations
Outdoor / Natural Site
Mammoth Cave National Park
Mammoth Cave, KY
Mammoth Cave is the world's longest known cave system with over 426 surveyed miles of passages. The cave was developed as a tourist site beginning in the 1810s and is internationally significant for the work of enslaved African American guide Stephen Bishop, who mapped much of the system in the 1840s and 1850s. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve.
$$ All Ages; some tours have minimum age and height requirements
Family: Moderate
Outdoor / Natural Site
Mammoth Cave National Park
Mammoth Cave, KY
Mammoth Cave National Park in Edmonson County, Kentucky, is the world's longest known cave system at over 420 mapped miles. Human use of the cave spans at least 4,000 years, from Archaic-period Indigenous people to the saltpeter mining operations of the War of 1812 era. The cave's 19th-century tourism industry was built substantially on the labor of enslaved guides, men like Stephen Bishop and the Bransford family, whose expert knowledge of the passages became the foundation for the park that was established in 1941.
$$ All Ages; Wild Cave Tour ages 16+
Family: Moderate
Outdoor / Natural Site
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Gatlinburg, TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park preserves 522,427 acres of southern Appalachian terrain across Tennessee and North Carolina. The land was the heart of the Cherokee Nation before forced removal in 1838 along what became the Trail of Tears, and home to Appalachian Scots-Irish and English settler communities through the early twentieth century. Congress authorized the park in 1926; it was formally dedicated by Franklin D. Roosevelt on September 2, 1940.
$ All Ages
Family: High
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Point Wilson Lighthouse family-friendly?
Family-friendly state park lighthouse experience; the ghost story is a sad maternal-grief lore appropriate for older children with context. Overall family fit: High.
How much does it cost to visit Point Wilson Lighthouse?
Free to view from public park; tours of the keeper's quarters offered seasonally via the Point Wilson Lighthouse non-profit. Discover Pass required for state park access. This location is free to visit.
Do I need to book in advance?
Yes, reservations are required.
Is Point Wilson Lighthouse wheelchair accessible?
Point Wilson Lighthouse has limited wheelchair accessibility. Terrain: Sandy / paved approach within Fort Worden State Park; tower interior access via stairs only..