In February 1898, the three-masted passenger ship Clara Nevada, loaded with 800 pounds of gold and an illegal shipment of dynamite, ran aground and exploded at Eldred Rock, 20 miles southeast of Haines, Alaska. Congress viewed the incident as sufficient evidence that a lighthouse on Eldred Rock was needed. The Lighthouse Board approved plans for the lighthouse in May 1905, and the lighthouse was activated June 1, 1906, making it the last of 10 lighthouses constructed in Alaska between 1902 and 1906.
