Visible from ten miles out to sea the enormous volcanic formation known as Point Sur—“The Rock”—was first mentioned in 1542, in the logs of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the Spanish captain of a Portuguese Pacific Coast seafaring expedition. Sixty years later, another Spaniard, Sebastian Vizcaino noted Point Sur on a 1602 map with the words “point that appears as a small island.” Although it looks like an island, Point Sur is connected to the mainland by a strip of beach. Point Sur had been designated as a prime location for a lighthouse since 1866, but it would be another decade before Congress came through with the funding. In 1887, at a cost of more than $100,000, construction of a lighthouse and residences commenced atop The Rock. In 1834, The Rock was encompassed by the 8,800-acre Rancho El Sur Mexican land grant which, in 1840, became the property of Captain John Rogers Continue Reading