WELLFLEET, Mass. —  A Cape Cod lighthouse thought to be destroyed more than 80 years ago has reappeared — in California.

Local historians for decades believed the 30-foot-tall lighthouse that once overlooked Wellfleet Harbor had been demolished in 1925.

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But researchers learned the fate of the cast iron tower last year. Colleen MacNeney, whose parents have snapped pictures of every lighthouse in the country, reported the find in this month's edition of Lighthouse Digest.

MacNeney told the Cape Cod Times that it was her most exciting discovery.

The structure is now at Point Montara at the southern end of San Francisco Bay.

MacNeney says she came across correspondence that proved the lighthouse, first built in 1881, had been moved by the Coast Guard from Wellfleet to Yerba Buena, Calif., and eventually to its current location at Point Montara.

The lighthouse, which is now white, is still used as a navigation aid and a 50-bed hostel, the Cape Cod Times reported.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.