The Lady Lighthouse Keeper - Part 2
The Santa Barbara Lighthouse was located on the Mesa about where Mesa Park is today. Julia Frances Williams served as the lighthouse keeper for 40 years. Her husband was an alcoholic, so she supported the family and raised six kids.
But she still was able to take a few moments now and then to appreciate the beauty of her domain. "I go up the stairs in the early evening . . . and light the lamps. I love to watch the beams flash out over the waters. It is wonderful how bright it will be on a stormy night when the clouds almost seem to be resting on the crests of those tossing waves. Then, again, at midnight, always, I come up again to see that all is well. It is then that I love best to stand and watch the sea. When it is calm and peaceful under the light of the moon or just the stars, the silence and majesty of it is inspiring."