Head Harbour Lighthouse
 | This article, Head Harbour Lighthouse, has recently been created via the Articles for creation process. Please check to see if the reviewer has accidentally left this template after accepting the draft and take appropriate action as necessary.
Reviewer tools: Inform author |
| This article, Head Harbour Lighthouse, has recently been created via the Articles for creation process. Please check to see if the reviewer has accidentally left this template after accepting the draft and take appropriate action as necessary.
Reviewer tools: Inform author |
 Head Harbour Light Station, Passamaquoddy Bay | |
 | |
| Location | Campobello Island |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 44°57′N 66°53′W / 44.950°N 66.883°W |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1829 |
| Foundation | Masonry |
| Construction | Heavy Timber |
| Automated | 1986  |
| Height | 51 feet (16 m) |
| Shape | Octagonal |
| Markings | White emblazoned with red cross (St. George's Cross) |
| Heritage | provincial heritage place |
| Light | |
| Focal height | 17.5 m (57 ft) |
| Range | 13 nmi (24 km; 15 mi) |
| Characteristic | F R |
| Designations | |
|---|---|
| Official name | Head Harbour Light Station |
| Designated | March 17, 2006 |
| Reference no. | 6537 |
Head Harbour Lighthouse, also known as East Quoddy Head Light (to differentiate the Canadian light from its American counterpart, West Quoddy Head Light,) is a lighthouse and station on Campobello Island, New Brunswick. Erected in 1829 by the provincial government, its purpose was to aid navigation for ships in the Bay of Fundy. While West Quoddy Light stands at the mouth of the narrows around Lubec, Maine, East Quoddy was built on the north side of Campobello, on a small tidal island connected to the primary landmass, guiding entry into Passamaquoddy Bay. Today, the light and its accessory structures are a historically designated heritage site, supported by an independent preservation group.
Description
The lighthouse itself is a 51 foot octagonal tower of heavy timber; the structure is painted a highly-visible white and marked with a large red cross. This is the St. George's Cross, associated with the English, and more broadly British, heritage of the province.[1] The lighthouse was built rapidly in 1829, being completed by the end of the same year in which its construction was approved by the House of Assembly of New Brunswick which financed it.[2]
The other buildings at the light station, including a keeper's residence built in 1840, a fog alarm building built during World War I, a workshed completed by 1915, and a boathouse built in 1947,[1] are similarly painted white with roofs and doors in a bright red.
The station is situated on a small islet which is accessible by land only during low tide. Roads have connected the station to the rest of Campobello Island, (and thence to mainland Canada,) since 1830,[3] but communication between the lighthouse and the outside continued to be conducted primarily by boat until the late 19th century.
A third-order fresnel lens, installed in 1887,[2] is located in the lantern room, with the original fog bell.
History
The United States Congress had authorized and appropriated funds for the construction of West Quoddy Head Light in 1806, seeing the stout, striped lighthouse completed two years later in 1808. While this light aided sailors in the southern region of the Bay of Fundy, most of Passamaquoddy Bay lies north of Campobello Island, far from the range of the American beacon.
In February 1829 the provincial government of New Brunswick, in the interest of "defraying the expense of building a Light House on the northern head of Campo Bello Island", designated £400 (equivalent to $44,461 in 2023) to see Harbour Head Lighthouse erected.[2] The timber structure was completed quickly, with operations beginning before the new year. The station's first keeper was John Snell, who received an annual salary of £120; Snell and his underlings lived in the lower chamber of the tower until the keeper's residence was built in 1840.
The lantern room was overhauled in 1842 to permit for a larger light source and lens structure.[1] This year also saw the initial painting of the tower's iconic red cross. The modern fresnel lens was installed in 1887.[2]
The first steam-powered foghorn and alarm system was established in 1877, but did not function properly. A renewed system, "the loudest and best sounding fog-alarm in the Bay of Fundy," according to one observer, was operational by 1885.[2]
During the First World War, a number of improvements to the station were made, including the erection of a dedicated fog alarm building and workers' shed. The new fog alarm building was outfitted with a class-C diaphone fog signal.[2]
The Canadian Coast Guard operated the station as a functional beacon until 1986. In 1988, proceedings for preserving the site as a piece of New Brunswick's historical heritage began; the "Friends of The Head Harbour Lightstation" organization was established in 2000 to manage the station as a historical and tourism site.[2] Full control of the site was transferred to the group in 2006.[1]
See Also