Tatoosh Island forms the nucleus of a group of isolated rocks three-quarters of a mile off Cape Flattery at the northern tip of the Olympic Peninsula. This was a summer home for some Makah Indians who grew potatoes on the island and built their houses and fish drying rocks along its rocky sides.

In 1850, the US Congress passed an Act to set aside $53140 to erect lighthouses at Cape Disappointment, Cape Flattery and New Dungeness, Washington. A US Coast survey team led by George Davidson examined Tatoosh Island and found a suitable place for the structure on the highest point, 100 feet (30 m) above high water. The island rises perpendicularly and has only one landing place for boats, at a narrow beach on its eastern side. Ascent to the top was by means of a path and rude steps cut in the bank until a derrick was erected by the light house construction crew to hoist materials up the cliff from the beach. Personnel and provisions also go up in the hoist. The station was completed and in commission by December, 1857, but constant fear of the Indians caused the first keepers to quit one after another, and not until late in the following year was the light in constant use. It was 20 years before white women were permitted to live on the island. - NPS