First Keeper of the Crescent City Lighthouse - 1856
Vital Statistics[]
- Son of Patrict MaGruder and Sara Turner
- Born: 1799 Near Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
- Died: 31 Jan 1886 in Crescent City, Del Norte, California USA
- Married: Fides M Stuart 11 Aug 1831 in Springfield, IL
Biography[]
Theophilus came west to expore the streams of the Oregon Territory for gold with James Marshall. James would later goto Sutters Fort and make the famous gold discovery there.
In 1855, $15,000 was appropriated to build a light to mark Battery Point, so named for the three cannon salvaged from the America and placed at the point. The point is an island at high tide. A 45-foot tower and dwelling housed a fourth-order Fresnel lens, which was visible for fourteen miles.
The light was lit on December 10, 1856. The first keeper, Theophilis McGruder, arrived on Christmas Day of the same year.