This beatuiful structure is located at milepost 179, just a few miles from the absolute center of the Oregon Coast (located just north of Florence).

Here, in an untamed, rugged chunk of coastline, Heceta Head is a 200-foot-high basalt cliff that boasts a 56-foot-high lighted tower in white and red. The keeper's quarters sits just below, which now serves as a charming B&B.

In 1892, construction of the lighthouse began, with lumber coming from local mills and other materials from near Oregon City and from San Francisco. It kicked into life in 1894. The first-order Fresnel lens was made by Chance Brothers of London, who only manufactured two other lights in the U.S. That original lens still remains, with eight panels and 640 prisms that are two inches thick.

These days, it's still visible 21 miles out to sea.

It's a part of Heceta Head State Scenic Viewpoint, formerly Devil's Elbow State Park. Although Devil's Elbow is still the tract of land south of Cape Creek.

History of this place is endlessly fascinating. Case in point: Surprisingly, One Man Connects Oregon Coast Lighthouses at Heceta Head, Terrible Tilly