Throughout history, lighthouses have been a welcoming beacon to sailors, either warning of dangers to avoid, or signaling the direction heading to safe harbour.
This is certainly the case for Canada with the longest coastline in the world. Not only on the ocean coasts either, as the Great Lakes are so vast that many lighthouses were erected along those shores as well.
Lighthouses also represent some interesting architectural designs and period-technologies
Late last month the oldest surviving lighthouse in the Atlantic province of Newfoundland and Labrador was officially declared as a heritage lighthouse under Canada’s Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act.
Built in 1835-36, the light located on the most easterly point in Canada.
Bill Brake of Parks Canada said in a press statement announcing the designation, “ Parks Canada is committed to protecting this irreplaceable cultural resource for all time and ensuring that present and future generations have the opportunity to connect in a meaningful, memorable way to Cape Spear Lighthouse National Historic Site.”
Another old lighthouse in Nova Scotia has had a somewhat different history.
The smaller Digby Pier lighthouse at the Annapolis Basin was originally built in 1880, and replaced in 1903.
In 1972, as with many lighthouses, technology meant it was no longer needed and was declared surplus. The Coast Guard decided to take it back to their base across the Bay of Fundy to Saint John, New Brunswick.
A few years ago some Digby residents decided they wanted it back and approached the Saint John mayor who agreed to trade it for a hundred kilos of scallops from the Digby group.
In 2012, back across the Bay of Fundy it came.
But with so many years of neglect, money and effort were needed to restore it, and that didn’t happen right away. The lighthouse ended up on its side in the public works compound where it lay neglected.
A contest called “This place matters” was set up by the National Trust, and the lighthouse project was awarded $15,000. With that money, the work began.
Now it’s under renovation by contractors and several volunteers and plans to have a re-dedication ceremony on July 23.
The fate of another lighthouse, called the Blockhouse Point Light , this one on Prince Edward Island, is still uncertain.
When the federal government declared most of its lighthouses as surplus, community groups were invited to take over responsibility as local heritage sites.
On P.E.I the Mi’kmaq Confederacy aboriginal group has first right of refusal to take over surplus land and the lighthouses.
Talks between the federal government and the Mi’kmaq have been going on for a year and a half.
The Blockhouse Point lighthouse, at Rocky Point, is one of them.
A local community group however also says it wants to take over and preserve the lighthouse and submitted a business plan to the government, adding it would be willing to work with the Mi’kmaq to maintain the building.
A Mi’kmaq representative said that’s not part of the discussions, but the Confederacy wouldn’t rule out the possibility
The local community group has expressed frustration saying it’s hard to maintain volunteer interest as years pass and there is no movement.
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