Mukilteo Lighthouse

by Gary Langley

Title

Mukilteo Lighthouse

Artist

Gary Langley

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

Mukilteo Lighthouse
Sitting on a historic plot of land, flashing a white light once every five seconds, Mukilteo Lighthouse guides ships on their way to Everett, Washington.

Native American Indians originally used the land in this area as a site for a camp during the winter months. In fact, Mukilteo is a local Indian word meaning “good camping ground.”

On May 31, 1792, during his exploration of Puget Sound, Captain George Vancouver anchored his ship and came ashore at the point and named it Rose Point because of the wild pink roses that covered the hillsides. Later, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, leader of the 1838-42 U.S. Exploring Expedition, changed the name to Point Elliott, likely in honor of midshipman Samuel Elliott.


Aerial view of station in 1949
Photograph courtesy U.S. Coast Guard
It was on January 22, 1855 that Washington Territory Governor Isaac Stevens met with eighty-two chieftains representing twenty-two local tribes at the site and ironed out the Treaty of Point Elliott. Through the treaty, the Indian wars ceased, the Tulalip Indian Reservation was established, and white settlement of the ceded coastal area between Seattle and the Canadian border began in earnest. A copy of the treaty can be seen today at Mukilteo Lighthouse.

In 1902, the Lighthouse Board determined a lighthouse at the point was needed:

Uploaded

September 7th, 2018

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