The Imperial Towers of Ontario were six of the earliest lighthouses built on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, [1] all constructed primarily of stone, by the Province of Canada. The origin of the designation Imperial is not certain, but some historians speculate that because the towers were public construction built under the colonial administration while Canada was a self-governing colony of Britain, the name would assure at least some funding from the British Empire's Board of Trade. [2]
All were built at a time when commercial shipping traffic was increasing on the Great Lakes between Canada and the U.S. because of new trade agreements and the opening of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal locks in 1855. The settlement of the Bruce Peninsula was already well underway at the time, also making the lighthouses timely as navigational aids for the boats and ships. All are currently operating as automated lights. [3] [4]
In 1855, John Brown, [5] a builder from Thorold, Ontario, was contracted to build eleven lighthouses and keepers' dwellings on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay between Point Clark and Christian Bay.
Eventually, only six of the towers were completed. These were:
All six were built between 1855 and 1859 and all were lit by 1859; for the most part, their construction was simultaneous and the design virtually identical, although the Christian Island Light is not as tall as the others. Cove Island was the first to be lit, on October 30, 1858; construction on Christian Island was the first to be started but this Light was the last to be lit, on May 1, 1859. (The projects cancelled were to be at White Fish Island, Mississagi Strait, Isle St. Joseph, Clapperton Island and Badgley Island.) [6]
The locations of the towers were chosen based on known traffic patterns; each tower marked a prominent navigational hazard which was already well-recognized. Sites were also chosen based on their proximity to good anchorages. The projects cancelled were to be at White Fish Island, Mississagi Strait, Isle St. Joseph, Clapperton Island and Badgley Island. [7]
Construction of the lights was plagued by difficulties. Brown lost four full supply boats, all of which sank before reaching their destinations and unloading. More supplies were lost from being swept overboard during storms and rough seas. Furthermore, delivery of the lighting apparatus for each tower was delayed by competing demand from lighthouse expansion in the United States and a bottleneck in the delivery of the lenses. The Fresnel lenses were made by the Louis Sautter Company of Paris and installed by specialist workmen from France. The most powerful (second-order) lenses were used at Point Clark, Chantry, Cove and Nottawasaga Island. [8]
Consequently, Brown was facing bankruptcy by 1857, and petitioned the provincial government for assistance. Presumably, the government responded favorably since he completed all six and remained in business until his death. By 1859 all six towers were lit. The final cost was approximately $223,000, a massive sum in that era. [9]
Only minor variations exist in the design of the six towers, as was required for the different building sites. They are all 80 feet (24 m) tall, with the exception of Christian Island, a 55-foot (17 m) tower. The rock courses at the bottom of the towers reach some seven feet thick, and the walls at ground level are six feet thick, tapering towards two feet thickness at the top. Though the lighthouses are conical, their interior diameter is 10'6'' throughout.
The towers and dwellings are constructed of limestone, with a granite section near the top of the tower for extra rigidity to support the lantern rooms. Most other lighthouses of the era were built of brick, wood, iron or concrete. [4] The lanterns are made of copper alloys, glass, and cast iron.
The towers are whitewashed and painted with red trim. Each was initially equipped with a Fresnel lens; they were the first Canadian lighthouses so equipped.
According to the Heritage Character Statement from the Government of Canada (for the nearly identical Chantry Island light), the design is very strong and somewhat ornate. [10]
As of 2017 [update] , all six towers are still standing and are functioning as automated lights. Three have been extensively restored. Griffith (on a private island) and especially Nottawasaga are deteriorating due to lack of maintenance. A fundraising effort is underway to restore the Nottawasaga light. [11] The Christian Island light, located on Beausoleil First Nation lands, also requires restoration.
Other Imperial Lights were built in the 1860s usually of rock shipped from Scotland, at Lotbinière, Quebec (1860); Pointe-aux-Trembles, Quebec (1862); L'Islet, Quebec (1865); Port St. Francis, Quebec on Lake St. Peter (1865); Isle aux Prunes opposite Verchères, Quebec (1866); and a movable lighthouse at Isle aux Raisins, Quebec (1867). [12] Four towers were built along the approaches to the Saint Lawrence: at fr:Cap-des-Rosiers on the Gaspe peninsula; in the Strait of Belle Isle; at Pointe Amour near L'Anse Amour on the Labrador coast; and at West Point on Anticosti Island. Other imperial towers are Mohawk Island (Gull Island), Lake Erie, built in 1848 by John Brown and Government historians list Bois Blanc near Amherstburg Ont built before that as also being an imperial tower.
The imperial towers were originally spelt with a small "i" and this is the definition of an imperial tower - Webster's Dictionary 1904-1951. imperial : In architecture, designating a form of dome or roof, as used in a Moorish buildings. imperial: In architecture, a kind of dome which viewed in profile, pointed toward the top and widens as it descends, as in Moorish buildings; an imperial dome.
Georgian Bay is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To its northwest is the North Channel.
The Bruce Peninsula is a peninsula in Ontario, Canada, that divides Georgian Bay of Lake Huron from the lake's main basin. The peninsula extends roughly northwestwards from the rest of Southwestern Ontario, pointing towards Manitoulin Island, with which it forms the widest strait joining Georgian Bay to the rest of Lake Huron. The Bruce Peninsula contains part of the geological formation known as the Niagara Escarpment. The entire peninsula and nearby communities to the south along Lake Huron are located within Bruce County, Ontario.
Cabot Head is a point of land on the northeast tip of the Bruce Peninsula in the Canadian province of Ontario. The Bruce Peninsula separates Georgian Bay from the rest of Lake Huron. Cabot Head is so named in honor of the explorer John Cabot, although Cabot never explored the Great Lakes. The name of the area was bestowed by John Graves Simcoe (1752-1806).
Christian Island is a large island in Georgian Bay close to the communities of Penetanguishene and Midland, Ontario. The island, with its neighbours Hope Island and Beckwith Island, is a 5,428.1 hectares Ojibwa reserve, known as Christian Island Indian Reserve No. 30. Together with the 7.5 hectares Christian Island Indian Reserve No. 30A located at Cedar Point, Ontario and the 3.1 hectares Chippewa Island Indian Reserve located in Twelve Mile Sound, 27.5 kilometres (17.1 mi) north of Christian Island, it forms the land base for the Beausoleil First Nation. Christian Islands' highest elevation is 209 metres above sea level.
Southampton is a community on the shores of Lake Huron in Bruce County, Ontario, Canada. It is close to Port Elgin and is located at the mouth of the Saugeen River in the Saugeen Ojibway Nation Territory. The size of the town is 6.44 square kilometres. The permanent population in 2016 was 3,678, but the summer population is higher since cottagers and campers spend vacation time in the area.
Lake Memphremagog is a fresh water glacial lake located between Newport, Vermont, United States and Magog, Quebec, Canada. The lake spans both Quebec and Vermont, but is mostly in Quebec. Most of the watershed that feeds the lake is located in Vermont, and is a source for accumulated phosphorus, sediments, and other pollutants. Cleanup efforts since the late 1980s have improved the water quality. The lake furnishes potable water for 200,000 people.
Nancy was a schooner, built in Detroit, Michigan and launched in 1789. She served for several years in the fur trade on the Great Lakes, but is best known for playing a part in the Anglo-American War of 1812. She served for several years as a vital supply ship for the Provincial Marine. The Royal Navy took over the Provincial Marine in 1814 and so acquired Nancy. After HMS Nancy was blocked in by an American fleet near the mouth of the Nottawasaga River, her crew set her on fire on 14 August 1814 to prevent the capture of the ship and the cargo she carried. Forgotten for many years, the wreck was re-discovered in July 1927 and raised to form the centrepiece of the Nancy Island Museum.
John Brown was a Canadian builder of Scottish origin.
Point Clark is a lakefront cottage community on Lake Huron, in the municipality of Huron-Kinloss, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately 15 kilometres south of Kincardine and 40 kilometres north of Goderich. Main streets include Huron Road and Lake Range Road. Point Clark is served by Highway 21 (Ontario). It is a cottage town, and has a rare Imperial Tower style lighthouse. There is a sandy beach and a small harbour with a boat ramp. There are two streams or rivers that run into Lake Huron around Point Clark: Clark Creek and Pine River. There is a separate harbour in the mouth of the Pine River. Amberley is just outside and to the south of Point Clark and Lucknow is to the south-east of Point Clark.
Chantry Island is a small island in Lake Huron, south of the mouth of the Saugeen River and approximately a kilometre off the shores of the town of Southampton, Ontario. It is approximately 19 hectares in size and is a migratory bird sanctuary. Since the sanctuary territory extends 183 metres into the water surrounding the island, the total official area is listed as 63 hectares.
Point Clark Lighthouse is located in a beach community, Point Clark, Ontario, near a point that protrudes into Lake Huron. Built between 1855 and 1859 under the instructions of the Board of Works, Canada West, it is one of the few lighthouses on the Great Lakes to be made primarily from stone. It is one of the Imperial Towers, a group of six nearly identical towers built by contractor John Brown for the "Province of Canada" on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, all completed by 1859. The location for the Point Clark lighthouse was selected to warn sailors of the shoals (sandbars) 2 miles (3.2 km) off the Lake Huron coast. It is still functioning as an automated light. A restoration that eventually exceeded $2.3 million started in 2011 and the facility reopened for tourism in June 2015.
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.
The Gull Rock Light Station is an active lighthouse located on Gull Rock, just west of Manitou Island, off the tip of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior. The light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, even as its condition deteriorated, resulting in its placement on the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List.
The history of lighthouses in Canada dates to 1734.
Huron Island Light is a lighthouse on Lake Superior near Big Bay, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Huron Islands Lighthouse in 1975. It is on one of the Huron Islands WildernessArchived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine.
Griffith Island is an island in Georgian Bay, in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is one of three islands in Colpoys Bay, and sits to the north east of Wiarton and north of Owen Sound. The other two islands in Colpoy's Bay are White Cloud Island and Hay Island. From the early 1970s, the island has been owned by and in private use of the Griffith Island Club, principally for recreational shooting and hunting. Hence, it is strictly off limits to the general public. The island has an airstrip, visible from satellite imagery, permitting authorized small aircraft to access the island.
The Middle Island Light is a lighthouse located on Middle Island in Lake Huron, about 10 miles (16 km) north of Alpena, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
The Chantry Island Lighthouse, officially known as Chantry Island Lightstation Tower, is a lightstation on Chantry Island, off the coast of Southampton, Ontario in Lake Huron. It was constructed in the years 1855 through to 1859, by John Brown of Thorold, Ontario, under the authority of the Province of Canada and is recognized as one of the six Imperial Towers. Virtually identical, they were completed in 1858-1859 on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay and are among the few lighthouses on the Great Lakes made of cut limestone and granite.