Signing off from the station at Tillamook Rock Lighthouse on Sept. 1, 1957, keeper Oswald Allik made one last entry into his logbook before turning out the light for good.

“Farewell, Tillamook Rock Light Station. An era has ended,” he wrote. “With this final entry, and not without sentiment, I return thee to the elements.”

Shining over the Pacific for 77 years, the beacon, nicknamed “Terrible Tilly” for its treacherous storms, once guided mariners over perilous seas west of Tillamook Head.

Construction, commissioned in 1878 and first set for the mainland coastline, took years – and even claimed the life of an early surveyor. The light’s first head keeper, Albert Roeder, remained only four months, citing the challenges of the lonely sea.

In 1890, a group of keepers — there were often five, the head keeper and as many as four assistants — wrote a letter to The Daily Morning Astorian, thanking three women who had sent flowers out to the station.

Tillamook Rock, an offshore outpost, was chosen as a locale for its visibility on approach, especially to sailors entering the Columbia River Bar. Early accounts suggest that the rock was once a haven for sea lions and shorebirds. Many have returned as the light ages in solitude.

Since going dark, the light has passed through various owners, served as a columbarium and was, earlier this year, put up for sale.

It has continued to endure shattered windows and flooded rooms, yet it rises from each storm a steady 133 feet above sea level. Allik’s account remains on display at Astoria’s Columbia River Maritime Museum.