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Early in 1808, a new star adorned the southern tip of eastern Northica: Poji Point Light. Built of granite carried by bullock wagons from Cedar Hollow quarries, the beacon revolved on an experimental turntable and marked the treacherous coast during difficult winter storms and coastal fog.

In the spring of 1829, the naval service built a two-story keeper’s house for Roger Nougat, the first full-time keeper, his wife, and eight children. The bell house was added in 1849 for a 1200-pound bronze fog bell which operated for almost thirty years before being replaced by a steam-driven horn. In 1838, the original turntable was refurbished with a newer clockwork mechanism, and a seven-wick oil lamp and first-order fresnel (“beehive”) lens was installed featuring blue panels that flashed every 6.5 seconds as the light turned.

Despite standing bright and tall at 62 feet from ground to vane on a point over 140 feet above sea level, Poji Point Light was often at best a witness to seafaring tragedies. Submerged rocks south of the Point fooled over a dozen ships in the mid-nineteeth century. In 1901 during a vicious winter storm, a steamer en route to Caldera Harbor struck a schooner, killing all aboard. The steamer remained afloat and apparently safe and continued its journey, but on reaching the Narrows suddenly listed to starboard and sunk within a half hour. Over 90 of 150 people were lost.

The spring of 1876 saw a new addition to the lighthouse when a metereological station was constructed to monitor and record weather patterns. While tracking what would stand as one of the coldest Februaries on record, the station became temporary living quarters after a chimney fire damaged almost a third of the keeper’s house in 1889. Rebuilt the following summmer, the house was joined by a 1500-gallon water cistern that was added for the comfort and safety of the keeper.

By the 1880s, competing landmongers aggressively purveyed property along the south shore. Nicknamed “pojis” because of the view of the lighthouse from these properties, these predecessors to today’s brokers soon developed a small family community on the east side of the Point. The original homes of this community can still be seen by visitors to St Andrews Beach and are the only private residences allowed within the wildlife sanctuary today. Having worked for and learned from one of these landmongers, an energetic Josef Leithaus began Leithaus Realty in 1898. He rode in a wagon stenciled with a simple drawing of Poji Point Light and traveled the coastline seeking and selling property, often with his employee James Nougat, grandson of the original Poji Point Light keeper. By the 1930s Josef and his son Frank rode in a custom Ford Model A from the Point as far north as Lake Suggayoh and Fort Rowan.

With its own Ford parked in front, in 1937 the lighthouse was electrified, and in the late 1950s the Fresnel lens was replaced by a DCB Series Aerobeacon. In 1988 the lighthouse was automated and the keeper’s house was turned over to the Poji Point Light Wildlife Sanctuary.

Poji Point Light Today

Artists love Poji Point Light and so do thousands of visitors yearly. During the 1990s volunteers restored the aggregation of buildings around the lighthouse, rebuilding much of the interior and exterior details, and furnished the keeper’s house in the style of the first occupants, the Nougat family. Some original furniture was recovered from local residents, including a four-poster bed and hall mirror. The house is now a favorite destination for area schools and history buffs.

The lighthouse itself still operates, beacon and horn now powered by solar panels, and it remains the tallest lighthouse in the region. A boardwalk that drops from behind the bell house provides a stunning coastal view of whales and seals swimming the tides, and visitors can stroll sandy paths surrounded by golden longhair grass, diverse flowering plants, and nearly 100 species of birds.

About Leithaus Realty

Family owned and run for over a hundred years, Leithaus Realty is the largest independent broker on the eastern coast of Northica. Since the 1930s Poji Point Light has served as a symbol of our pride and excellence and reflect our roots on the south shore and strong ties to the local community:
Certified Realty and Property Specialists • Associatian of Resort Specialists and Entrepreneurs • Commercial Investment Council • Charter member, Robinsdale County Chamber of Commerce

Leithaus Realty, property guidance since 1898 serving Applecross • Calder • Cashel Heights • Cedar Hollow • Corintha • East Calder • Fort Rowan • Foseptiq • Franklin Village • Selkirk • Shimen Grove • St Andrews Station • Tinwald • Not responsible for typographical errors; we ask your pardon.

Licensed by the Northican Department of Finance and Trade #354-77A21C

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