[2] After repeated requests to Congress, and a petition from local mariners, funding for the construction of a light on Burrows Island was authorized on February 24, 1903.

The drawings were made by noted architect, Carl Leick, and a contract was awarded to Barnett and Farmer for construction in May of 1905.

The Lighthouse Board selected the westernmost tip of Burrows Island, near Anacortes, Washington, as the site for the new light station.

[4] The wood-framed lighthouse stands nears the island's shoreline, which mainly consists of sharp and rocky drop-offs that demanded a derrick be constructed for loading the station boat and bringing in supplies.

[5] Automated in 1972, the Fresnel lens was replaced with modern optics and a helicopter landing pad located where the lighthouse keeper's home formerly stood.