Originally named Bandon Light, Coquille River Light was commissioned in 1895.
First lit on February 29, 1896, the light guided mariners past the dangerous
shifting sandbars into the Coquille River and harbor at Bandon. The light contained
a fourth-order Fresnel lens and connected to the nearby keepers house by a wooden walkway.
In September 1936, a large wildfire swept through the surrounding area, and destroyed most
of Bandon. The town soon became bankrupt as a result of the decline in shipping.
Coquille Light was shut down in 1939 and replaced by an automated light on the south jetty.