Lime Kiln Lighthouse on San Juan Island. \u00a9Priscilla Willis<\/p><\/div>\n
Lime Kiln Light was the last major lighthouse built in the state of Washington, and the last to be connected to electricity. Both the lighthouse and state park are named after the lime kilns built in the area in the 1860s. The lighthouse operated with an incandescent oil-vapor lamp until after World War II, when it was replaced by a lens that used an electric light bulb. Two houses to accommodate the lighthouse\u2019s keepers were built during the construction of the light and are still located behind it.<\/p>\n
Today, the beacon flashes every 10 seconds starting at sundown, illuminating around 17 miles of sea, but Erin Corra, the founder of FOLKS, said the signal emits a call far beyond that: the park receives around 350,000 visitors annually from almost all 50 states and roughly 40 different countries. A hydrophone attached to the lighthouse also provides visitors with a marine soundtrack, capturing everything from the pops of snapping shrimp to the elegiac calls of orcas. Also known as Whale Watch Park, Lime Kiln Point State Park is renowned for being one of the best places in the world to view orcas and other whales from shore<\/strong>.<\/p>\nLime Kiln Lighthouse is an internationally recognized icon of the San Juan Islands which became operational on June 30, 1919, making June 30th,2019 its landmark 100th birthday. If you would like to be in the group photo when one of the most photogenic lighthouses on the West Coast turns 100, then mark June 30th, 2019 on your calendar. There might even be whales in the background!<\/p>\n
Festivities planned by Friends of Lime Kiln Society (FOLKS) include:<\/p>\n