The Lime Kiln light, a name derived from the lime kilns built nearby in the 1860s, was first established in 1914. It was the last major light established in Washington. The lighthouse was updated five years later with a 38-foot (12 m) octagonal concrete tower rising from the fog signal building. A fourth-order Fresnel lens was first exhibited from the new tower on June 30, 1919. The Coast Guard automated the Lime Kiln Lighthouse in August 1962, using photoelectric cells to turn the light on at dusk and off during daylight hours. In 1998, the drum lens was replaced with a modern optic, flashing a white light once every 10 seconds.