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.

Over the next 37 years, the condition of the light deteriorated due to neglect and vandalism, until 1976, when its first major restoration began.

However, by this time, the keepers quarters and other outbuildings had deteriorated past the point of repair, and were eventually removed.