Lightship Columbia

Lightship Columbia at the Columbia River Maritime Museum.

Before the days of automated light buoys, actual ships had to stand guard to guide other ships past hazards and into ports that lighthouses couldn't mark. The Columbia River Lightship Station was the first active lightship station on the West Coast, beginning April 11, 1892. The lightship Columbia, registry WLV 604, was assigned here from 1951 to 1979. The Columbia was built by the Rice Brothers Corporation of Boothbay, Maine in 1951. The Columbia is 128 feet long and powered by a 550 horsepower diesel engine. Columbia is equipped with a 1200 Watt light, a 13-mile aircraft beacon and a 5-mile foghorn. The Columbia River Lightship Station was replaced with a buoy in 1979. The Columbia was the last serving West Coast lightship. Columbia was retired and came to the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, Oregon, where she is maintained in operating condition. In 1993, the original buoy that replaced the Columbia was itself retired, and joined the Columbia at the museum.

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