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locAl Thursday 12 June 2025
A7

A brief history of the California Light House

(Oranjestad)—At the furthest
western point of the island,
there lies the tallest structure
on the island: The California
Light House. Standing on top
of a limestone cliff, this light-
house oversees the entire is-
land, offering one of few best
views of the island and the
surrounding sea. It is also one
of the few monuments that
hold a rich history.

The lighthouse was con-
structed in between 1914-
1916, and its first keeper was
a young trained lighthouse
keeper from Curacao names
Jacob Jacobs. Mr. Frederico
Fingal was the last man to
have occupied this position years, I heard that it is in a measures about 1 meter by
until 1962. Though his son, Mr. train museum in San Nicolas, 30 centimeters wide, which is
Romulo Fingal did not con- where we found this very spe- a block of solid iron attached
tinue in his father’s footsteps, cial lens that, when the light to a cable. When you release
he does have a special con- shines through it, it reaches it upwards, it comes down,
nection to the lighthouse. He 30 kilometers out to sea." Mr. and the weight that comes
sat down with our reporter Fingal told our reporter. down pulls it up, gradually.
and shared a bit of its history. And while it comes down,
The lighthouse has a long the same weight that is de-
As Mr. Fingal explains, "In and very interesting history. scending causes many small
1915, cargo donkeys were The reason why the light- wheels to turn in the oppo-
hired from Figaroa di Noord house was built, according site direction. The Lighthouse
to help build the Lighthouse to Mr. Fingal, dates back to rotates from 6 pm in the
at Westpunt. The donkeys the day when the cargo ship evening, when the sun sets,
had to walk along the beach S.S. California sank because until 6 am in the morning.
all the way to Westpunt car- of the lack of light. In 1913, During the entire night, the
rying the cargo, poles, ce- Aruba made a request to Cu- light shines on the lantern, it
ment, and all these things. racao to build a Lighthouse goes down 24 meters, and
At that time, it was a difficult at Westpunt, and the gover- the Lighthouse is 30 meters
task until Aruba got its first nor of Curacao responded high. It is designed not to col-
truck. These things reflect to Aruba to come back in lapse," Mr. Fingal explains.
how people could have ac- 1915 with a well-detailed
complished this tremendous or roads to get there. There lighthouse keeper until he plan. "During the First World Mr. Fingal further explains
job with so little." Mr. Fingal was only a donkey trail. Those retired in 1962. After that, War from 1914 to 1918, they that in one night, the light-
said, "At that time, it wasn't were the only means of trans- they removed the power had to wait for the light to house rotates 4,320 times
a place for people to work. portation." cables all the way to the be transported to Aruba be- and consumes one gallon
It was very challenging be- top. According to the story, cause it was manufactured of kerosene for the whole
cause it was full of goats and Mr. Fingal continues, "In 1939, we couldn't have the light in France. At that time, there operation. "At that time, the
donkeys, and it was very iso- I was born in the lighthouse, ourselves because they dis- was no electricity, and the kerosene was supplied from
lated. There were no hotels and my father was the last mantled it, and after many light was very interesting the Lago refinery. Every day
because it rotated with a it was brought down, and to
kerosene lamp that planes start the light again, they had
used; clean kerosene," Mr. to lift the weight up, so our
Fingal said. job as children was to crank
it and raise the weight back
Mr. Fingal discovered some- up in the evening when the
thing very interesting about light stuck, they would take
the lighthouse after much it down again, and the light
research was documented stayed down. That's how it
in his book 'History of the worked for a very long time,"
Lighthouse at Westpunt.' Mr. Fingal explains.
He found many details: "I
found out that the height Thanks to the Monument
of the lighthouse was due Fund Aruba, which worked
to the absence of electric- hard and is currently in
ity. There was also the pres- charge of the Lighthouse, Mr.
ence of coral. There is a long Fingal is very happy with its
steel cable from where the preservation, along with all
light is, and under the light, the renovations that have
at the highest point, there taken place. He hopes that
is a hanging weight, a sort the story of the lighthouse will
of pendulum that swings continue to live on for future
like that, with a weight that generations.q