Desdemona Sands Lighthouse, shown in 1902, was built to replace Point Adams.

Oregon’s coastal lighthouses are beacons of survival.

Once a lifeline for mariners and the homes of lighthouse keepers and their families, most are now peaceful towers that keep watch over the rising and falling tides. They have become part of the landscape where rocky headlands meet the sea.

Of the 11 lighthouses along Oregon’s coastline, plus two at Cape Disappointment north of the Columbia River, a handful are privately owned, while others welcome millions of visitors each year with seasonal tours and interpretive displays.

But some lighthouses have been lost to history.

In collecting stamps over the summer for my pocket-sized lighthouse passport, a little blue book issued by the U.S. Lighthouse Society, I’ve come upon some of these “lost lights” that once stood near the mouth of the Columbia River.

First, there was Point Adams. Designed in 1875 by Paul J. Pelz, an architect who worked on several other lighthouses as well as the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., it consisted of a wooden Eastlake-style cottage next to a tower. Its fourth-order Fresnel lens was said to be visible for 11 miles, flashing a red-and-white signal.

Maintenance was costly, with sand frequently said to blow into the building, and shortly after the Columbia River South Jetty was constructed in the 1890s, the lighthouse was decommissioned. It was later burned.

In its place, Desdemona Sands Light was constructed in 1902.

Built on pilings over the river, the Desdemona, named for a nearby shipwreck, came equipped with a fog signal and its own boat. It was also said to be visible for 11 miles.

But it, too, was eventually demolished. In 1945, Desdemona’s lens was sent to the Mukilteo Lighthouse overlooking Puget Sound.

Having grown up taking the Mukilteo ferry to Whidbey Island, looking out at that lighthouse, this fact has stuck with me. That’s the light from Astoria.

For the curious lighthouse passport holder, by the way, the stamp for Point Adams can be found at the Columbia River Maritime Museum, as can Desdemona’s fog bell.