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local Friday 3 OctOber 2025
A brief history of the California Light House

The California lighthouse at the Northern tip of Aruba in the Caribbean. The Ship "California" ran aground off this point, thus it's namesake. The vessel "California" was
also involved in the disaster of the "Titanic".
(Oranjestad)—At the fur- Westpunt carrying the car- lometers out to sea.” Mr. height of the lighthouse
thest western point of the go, poles, cement, and all Fingal told our reporter. was due to the absence
island, there lies the tall- these things. At that time, of electricity. There was
est structure on the island: it was a difficult task until The lighthouse has a long also the presence of coral.
The California Light House. Aruba got its first truck. and very interesting history. There is a long steel cable
Standing on top of a lime- The reason why the light- from where the light is, and
stone cliff, this lighthouse These things reflect how house was built, according under the light, at the high-
oversees the entire island, people could have ac- to Mr. Fingal, dates back est point, there is a hanging
offering one of few best complished this tremen- to the day when the cargo weight, a sort of pendulum
views of the island and the dous job with so little.” Mr. ship S.S. California sank be- that swings like that, with
surrounding sea. It is also Fingal said, “At that time, it cause of the lack of light. a weight that measures of kerosene for the whole
one of the few monuments wasn’t a place for people In 1913, Aruba made a re- about 1 meter by 30 cen- operation. “At that time,
that hold a rich history. to work. It was very chal- quest to Curacao to build timeters wide, which is a the kerosene was supplied
lenging because it was full a Lighthouse at Westpunt, block of solid iron attached from the Lago refinery.
The lighthouse was con- of goats and donkeys, and and the governor of Cura- to a cable. When you re- Every day it was brought
structed in between 1914- it was very isolated. There cao responded to Aruba lease it upwards, it comes down, and to start the
1916, and its first keeper were no hotels or roads to to come back in 1915 with down, and the weight light again, they had to lift
was a young trained light- get there. There was only a well-detailed plan. “Dur- that comes down pulls it the weight up, so our job
house keeper from Cura- a donkey trail. Those were ing the First World War from up, gradually. And while as children was to crank it
cao names Jacob Jacobs. the only means of transpor- 1914 to 1918, they had to it comes down, the same and raise the weight back
Mr. Frederico Fingal was tation.” wait for the light to be trans- weight that is descending up in the evening when the
the last man to have occu- ported to Aruba because causes many small wheels light stuck, they would take
pied this position until 1962. Mr. Fingal continues, “In it was manufactured in to turn in the opposite di- it down again, and the light
Though his son, Mr. Romulo 1939, I was born in the light- France. At that time, there rection. The Lighthouse stayed down. That’s how
Fingal did not continue in house, and my father was was no electricity, and the rotates from 6 pm in the it worked for a very long
his father’s footsteps, he the last lighthouse keeper light was very interesting evening, when the sun sets, time,” Mr. Fingal explains.
does have a special con- until he retired in 1962. Af- because it rotated with a until 6 am in the morning.
nection to the lighthouse. ter that, they removed the kerosene lamp that planes During the entire night, the Thanks to the Monument
He sat down with our re- power cables all the way used; clean kerosene,” Mr. light shines on the lantern, it Fund Aruba, which worked
porter and shared a bit of to the top. According to Fingal said. goes down 24 meters, and hard and is currently in
its history. the story, we couldn’t have the Lighthouse is 30 meters charge of the Lighthouse,
the light ourselves because Mr. Fingal discovered high. It is designed not to Mr. Fingal is very happy
As Mr. Fingal explains, “In they dismantled it, and something very interesting collapse,” Mr. Fingal ex- with its preservation, along
1915, cargo donkeys were after many years, I heard about the lighthouse after plains. with all the renovations
hired from Figaroa di Noord that it is in a train museum much research was docu- that have taken place.
to help build the Light- in San Nicolas, where we mented in his book ‘History Mr. Fingal further explains He hopes that the story
house at Westpunt. The found this very special lens of the Lighthouse at West- that in one night, the light- of the lighthouse will con-
donkeys had to walk along that, when the light shines punt.’ He found many de- house rotates 4,320 times tinue to live on for future
the beach all the way to through it, it reaches 30 ki- tails: “I found out that the and consumes one gallon generations.q