The "Fresnel Lens" in the Mukilteo Lighthouse was built in France in 1852. This ingenious device causes its 150-watt bulb to be visible from 10 miles away! In November of that same year, a group of 44 pioneers convened in what was then the town of Monticello, near present-day Longview, Washington. They prepared a petition to the Oregon Governor and Legislature to separate the area north of the Columbia River into its own U.S. Territory to be called 'Columbia Territory'. In 1853, one year after the Mukilteo "Fresnel Lens" was made, Congress created the Territory but named it Washington! Thus the "Mukilteo Fresnel Lens", one year older than the Washington Territory, is thirty-seven years older than the State of Washington. This historical, fully functional, Mukilteo Lighthouse aka Mukiltrio Lighstation, in Mukilteo Lighthouse Park, is certainly worth a visit!