Grandique Point Lighthouse

Last updated
Grandique Point Lighthouse
Grandique Point Lighthouse.jpg
Grandique Point Lighthouse
Grandique Point Lighthouse
Location Lennox Passage Provincial Park, Isle Madame, Nova Scotia
Coordinates 45°35′36.6″N61°01′20.3″W / 45.593500°N 61.022306°W / 45.593500; -61.022306 Coordinates: 45°35′36.6″N61°01′20.3″W / 45.593500°N 61.022306°W / 45.593500; -61.022306
Tower
Constructed1884 (first) (1884 (first))
Constructionwooden tower (current)
pole (first)
Height9.5 metres (31 ft)
Shapesquare pyramidal tower with gallery and lantern
Markingswhite tower with red lantern and trim
OperatorCanadian Coast Guard
Light
First lit1906 (current)
Automated1961
Focal height9.2 metres (30 ft)
Lens6th order dioptric, fixed red
Range7.0 nautical miles (13.0 km; 8.1 mi)
Characteristic LFl G 6s.
(flash 2 sec; eclipse 4 sec) Operates at night only, seasonal

Grandique Point Lighthouse (also known as 'Grandique Ferry Lighthouse') is an aid to navigation for Lennox Passage, which is the channel of water between the southern shore of Cape Breton Island and Isle Madame, Nova Scotia, Canada. The lighthouse is located on the beach at Grandique Point in Lennox Passage Provincial Park and is accessible by a gravel road within the provincial park. The site is open to the public, the tower is closed.

Contents

The first light

Grandique Point Lighthouse Lighthouse DGJ 4983 - Grandique Point (6487234865) (2).jpg
Grandique Point Lighthouse

The first Grandique Point Light, a pole light, was established at Grand Dique Beach in 1884 (the spelling 'Grandique' didn't become official until 1956). [1] After the opening of the St. Peters Canal, Lennox Passage saw an increase in marine traffic. For safety reasons, lights were established along the route. The first lightkeeper at Grand Dique was Daniel Clough, appointed at $54 per year. Daniel Clough was the son of the merchant Nathaniel Cough, a recipient of one of the first Crown Land grants on Isle Madame.

This first light showed a fixed red light from a small lantern hoisted atop a 7.2 metres (24 ft) pole, with a small white shed at the base for daytime storage of the light and associated materials.

In the late 1800s the lighthouse was flanked by docks for limestone and plaster quarries and quays for the Isle Madame farmers to bring their produce and livestock to market. There was also a passenger ferry that landed on Grandique Pointe quite near the lighthouse. Many of these features can still be seen today. [2]

Due to erosion at the Grandique spit of land, the pole light was moved in 1900. [3]

The lighthouse today

Grandique Point Lighthouse Lighthouse DGJ 49874 - Grandique Point (6487258499) (2).jpg
Grandique Point Lighthouse

In 1906 the decision was made to build a proper lighthouse at Grandique Point. Constructed under contract by Lawrence Mury of West Arichat for the price or $452, the new light was ready for the opening of navigation in 1907. From 1922 to 1941 the light had a 6th order dioptric lens, showing a fixed red light, with a range of 7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi) and was seasonal in operation, maintained from April to January. [2]

By October, 1961 the light had been electrified and automated, running off a 6 volt battery system (5 large single cells) equipped with a flasher and a sun switch to turn the light on and off, maintained by a caretaker. In 1963, due to storm damage and beach erosion the light had to be moved again, about 15 metres (49 ft) southward. When commercial power was connected to the light in 1977 the light became seasonal, maintained from May 1 to December 15.

In the winter of 2010, the lighthouse was moved to its present location. [3] The light shows as a 2 second long green flash, every 6 seconds, then dark for 4 seconds, with a range of 7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi), and operates at night only, seasonally. [4]

The last lightkeeper at Grandique was Stanley Forgeron who took over in 1960. Forgeron oversaw the conversion to an automated light in 1961 and became a caretaker. [3]

Lightkeepers at Grandique Point

Lennox Passage Provincial Park and the historic Grandique Point Lighthouse Lennox Passage Provincial Park and Grandique Point Lighthouse 01.jpg
Lennox Passage Provincial Park and the historic Grandique Point Lighthouse

See also

Notes

  1. "Geographical Names of Canada - Grandique Point". Government of Canada. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "Grandique Point Lighthouse". The Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Isle Madame Lights - Grandique". Isle Madame Lighthouse Preservation Society. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  4. "List of lights, Buoys and Fog Signals - Atlantic - CAPE BRETON ISLAND, N.S." Government of Canada. Retrieved 12 June 2018.

Related Research Articles

Isle Madame is an island off southeastern Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. It is part of the Municipality of the County of Richmond.

Cape Norman is a barren, limestone headland located at the northernmost point of insular Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Fleur-de-lis Trail is a scenic roadway located on Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island. It is approximately 182 km (113 mi) long and runs along the southeastern part of the island through an Acadian region, with a 35 km (22 mi) spur route to and encircling Isle Madame, for a total distance of 217 km (135 mi).

Route 206 is a collector road in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

Route 320 is a collector road in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

Seal Island (Nova Scotia)

Seal Island is an island on the outermost extreme of Southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada, in the Municipality of the District of Argyle in Yarmouth County. It is approximately 4.3 kilometres (2.7 mi) long and 0.8 kilometres (0.50 mi) wide and is surrounded on its east, south and west sides by dangerous shoals. It is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and is the biggest of a group of five islands which extend north for 12 kilometres (7.5 mi). It is the second southernmost point of land of Nova Scotia. The southern tip of nearby Cape Sable Island is 250 metres (820 ft) farther south than the southern tip of land on Seal Island.

Sambro Island Light Lighthouse

Sambro Island Lighthouse is a landfall lighthouse located at the entrance to Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia, on an island near the community of Sambro in the Halifax Regional Municipality. It is the oldest surviving lighthouse in North America and its construction is a National Historic Event.

Grandique Ferry, Nova Scotia

Grandique Ferry is a former community in Richmond County, Nova Scotia.

D'Escousse is situated on the north-eastern side of Isle Madame. It is on Nova Scotia Route 320. It has had a church since 1845, which was destroyed as a result of a fire on July 20, 1954 and rebuilt in 1955, and closed for church services in 2014.

Cove Island Light Lighthouse

The Cove Island Light, at Gig Point on the island, is located in Fathom Five National Marine Park, but is not part of the Park. It is situated on the Bruce Peninsula, Ontario Canada. It has been a navigational aid in the narrow channel between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay since 30 October 1858. It was the first of six stone Imperial Towers to be completed; all were illuminated by 1859. Most other lighthouses of the era were built of brick, wood, iron or concrete.

Louisbourg Lighthouse Lighthouse

Louisbourg Lighthouse is an active Canadian lighthouse in Louisbourg, Nova Scotia. The current tower is the fourth in a series of lighthouses that have been built on the site, the earliest was the first lighthouse in Canada.

Wood Islands Lighthouse Lighthouse

The Wood Islands Lighthouse is a historic lighthouse built by Joseph Tomlinson III situated on the southeastern shore of Prince Edward Island, located in the community of Wood Islands. The lighthouse is a well-preserved three storey tower with an adjoining 1+12-storey keeper's residence. The white shingled tower is topped by a red iron lantern, which is enclosed by a white railing on the observation deck. The red roof of the dwelling provides a striking contrast to the white shingled exterior of the dwelling.

The history of lighthouses in Canada dates back to 1734.

Low Point Lighthouse Lighthouse

Low Point Lighthouse is an historic Canadian lighthouse marking the eastern entrance to Sydney Harbour at New Victoria, Nova Scotia, near New Waterford, Nova Scotia. This is one of the earliest and most important light stations of Nova Scotia, one of the first dozen beacons in Nova Scotia to be lit to guide mariners, a classic red-and-white lighthouse still operated by the Canadian Coast Guard.

Devils Island Light (Nova Scotia) Lighthouse

The Devils Island Light is a Nova Scotia lighthouse located at the eastern shore entrance to Halifax Harbour on Devils Island, Nova Scotia. First lit in 1852, it was succeeded by a second lighthouse in 1877 which survives today. The lighthouse has influenced regional folklore and remains an important community landmark although it is currently neglected and threatened.

Point Amour Lighthouse Lighthouse

The Point Amour Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Point Amour in southern Labrador, Canada. It is not far from L'Anse Amour, and was completed in 1857. It is the tallest lighthouse in Atlantic Canada, and the second tallest one in all of Canada, reaching a height of 109 feet (33m).

Lennox Passage (waterway)

Lennox Passage is a navigable waterway between Cape Breton Island and Isle Madame in Nova Scotia, Canada. Small craft use the relatively protected Passage traveling to and from St. Peters Canal at the village of St. Peter's and the Strait of Canso to avoid sailing around the east coast of Cape Breton in the open Atlantic Ocean.

Balache Point Lighthouse Lighthouse in Nova Scotia, Canada

Balache Point Lighthouse also known as Balache Point Range Rear Lighthouse is an active Canadian lighthouse located next to the Canso Canal, near Port Hastings, Inverness County, Nova Scotia. The salt shaker style light, which sits on a small hillock on the Cape Breton side of the canal, is the second lighthouse to be built on the site.

Gannet Rock Lighthouse Lighthouse

The Gannet Rock Lighthouse is a Canadian lighthouse located on a rocky islet 8 miles (13 km) south of Grand Manan in the Bay of Fundy. It was first lit in 1831 and was staffed until 1996. It was solarized in 2002 and remains operational in 2017. It was declared "surplus to requirements" by the Canadian Coast Guard in 2010 and is no longer being maintained.

Lennox Passage Provincial Park

Lennox Passage Provincial Park is a small picnic and beach park on the shores of Lennox Passage (waterway) on the North Shore of Isle Madame on Cape Breton Island with 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) of shoreline, an operating lighthouse and site of a former post office (c.1910), ferry terminal and two limestone quarries. Visitors can picnic at tables scattered through a forest and open areas, enjoy the 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) of trails, or explore the working lighthouse. In summer the park offers swimming, kayaking, and biking opportunities. There are snowshoeing and cross-country skiing opportunities in the winter, however parking is available at the gate only in the off season. Located on Hwy 320, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of the junction of Routes 320 and 206.

References