Pigeon Point was named for the Clipper Ship "Carrier Pigeon" which wrecked there. The Carrier Pigeon, a 175-foot long clipper ship with a gilded pigeon as her figurehead, was launched from the shipyards at Bath, Maine in the fall of 1852. She left Boston on January 28, 1853 for her maiden voyage around Cape Horn to San Francisco. The ship was spotted off Santa Cruz on the morning of June 6. That evening, with a thick fog hiding the shore, the Carrier Pigeon struck rocks and began taking on water. The captain and crew made it safely to shore, but the ship was a loss.

The 115-foot Pigeon Point Lighthouse, one of the tallest lighthouses in America, has been guiding mariners since 1872. Its five-wick lard oil lamp, and first-order Fresnel lens, comprised of 1,008 prisms, all hand-ground, was first lit at sunset, November 15, 1872. The original Fresnel lens has quite a history. It was first used in the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. During the Civil War, Confederates removed the lens and hid it, endangering shipping in the area. Because of the need to get the lighthouse operational again, a new Fresnel lens was ordered from Paris. By the time it came, the old lens had been recovered. It was sent West to be installed in the new Pigeon Point Lighthouse.

It's a beautiful setting, and many people come to stay at the hostel on the grounds. Unfortunately, due to exterior structural problems, the lighthouse has been closed to visitors for several years.