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local Tuesday 13 May 2025
A brief history of the California Light House

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

Thanks to the Monument
Fund Aruba, which worked
hard and is currently in
charge of the Lighthouse,
Mr. Fingal is very happy
with its preservation, along
with all the renovations
that have taken place.
He hopes that the story
of the lighthouse will con-
tinue to live on for future
generations.q