Cape Forchu, Nova Scotia

Cape Forchu is a Canadian fishing community and headland of the same name in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia.

History

During the 17th and 18th centuries, fishing, water transportation and trade were essential to everyday life in Cape Forchu. During the 19th century, Yarmouth Harbour became a major port of registry for sailing ships and by the late 19th century, it was the second largest port of registry in Canada.

Shipwrecks were common along the shoreline and it was recommended by Colonel Robert Morse in 1874 that a chain of lighthouses should be built along the shores of Nova Scotia hence the construction of the Cape Forchu Lighthouse in 1840. This light station was replaced in 1962 with the "apple core" - a concrete tower. Since 2000, the original fresnel lens used at the lighthouse is located at the Yarmouth County Museum. At Cape Forchu there is an outcrop of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana. ^[1]