Pirates, Pinnacles and Petticoats; the Shipwrecks of Point Pinos and Monterey Bay

Referred to fondly as the Circle of Enchantment, the spectacular coastline surrounding Monterey is filled with romance, poetry, and picturesque scenes. According to an early writer, Monterey is a little nest of quiet, encircled with an amphitheater of hills, pine-fringed and carpeted with flowers.

In 1602, explorer Sebastian Viscaino encountered the bay he named Monte Rey in honor of the viceroy of what would later be Mexico. At the northernmost part of the Monterey peninsula, he also observed a thickly-wooded area where native pines thrived near the water's edge. This he called Punta de los Pinos, meaning Point of the Pines and later known as Point Pinos. By 1850 the United States had annexed Alta California, the territory was given statehood, and gold was discovered. Touched with gold fever, fortune hunters and ships alike flooded into California, igniting cries for increased aids to navigation. Jutting out into a sea where opposing currents collide, Point Pinos proved a dangerous and, therefore, ideal location for a lighthouse. Since February 1, 1855, its beacon has flashed nightly as a guide and warning to ships navigating the rocky Monterey peninsula.

Today, Point Pinos is the oldest active lighthouse on the Pacific. It is also a site brimming with a rich history of colorful characters, including Spanish adventurers, notorious smugglers, intriguing authors, gritty sea captains, and the first women lighthouse keepers of the West Coast.