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Lighthouses have long been seen as symbols of safety, of hope and of refuge. For many people, there is a great deal of symbolism attached to lighthouses as illustrated by the hymn, “Let the Lower Lights be Burning.” Prince Edward Island, with its many miles of coastline, is fortunate to still have most of its original beacons still functioning and in good repair.

Because of the advances of technology, most boats today have sophisticated navigational aids, and do not need to depend as much on lighthouses as they did in the past. However, many fishermen and other mariners will tell you that they still rely on the lighthouses to assure them of their location.

Prince Edward Island has forty-four functioning lighthouse structures, ranging from small range lights located at the end of a pier, such as the two Wood Islands Range Lights, to the stately tower at West Point. Three range lights were deactivated in 1997. The Borden Front and Rear Ranges were no longer needed when the Confederation Bridge opened in 1997, and the Big Tignish Range Light at Jude's Point was also deactivated in 1997. There are also numerous navigation lights on metal towers or poles, but as useful as they are, they are not the lights which have captured the imagination of the people for generations.

The first lighthouse built on PEI was the Point Prim Lighthouse which was built in 1845. Architect Isaac Smith designed the sixty foot round brick lighthouse which is one of the last of its kind in Canada. It was first lit on December 4, 1845, and went into regular service in 1846. The soft Island bricks quickly began to erode and in 1847 the tower had to be boarded and shingled.

The Point Prim Lighthouse guided ships into Charlottetown Harbour but a further light was needed to mark Rocky Point on the opposite side of the harbour. In 1851 a light was attached to the roof of a square blockhouse just south of Fort Amherst. The actual Blockhouse Lighthouse was not built until 1876.

The lighthouses built before Prince Edward Island joined Confederation are sometimes called the Colonial or PreConfederation Lights. Except for Point Prim, they were octagonal in shape and strongly built of wood which was plentiful. There were many skilled carpenters available because shipbuilding was a major industry when most of the lighthouses were built. The following were the Colonial Lighthouses: Point Prim, 1845; Panmure Island, 1853; Seacow Head, 1863; St. Peter's Head, 1865 and North Cape, 1866.

Shortly after Prince Edward Island joined Confederation in 1873, local members of Parliament, James C. Pope and A.C. Mac Donald wrote to the Minister of Marine and Fisheries stating that “the Island coasts were insufficiently lighted and that new lighthouses should be built in no less than ten places.”

The first lighthouse built by the Federal government on Prince Edward Island was the West Point Lighthouse which is associated with the transfer of responsibility for aids to navigation from the colonial government to the new Department of Marine. It was built in 1875 and began full service on May 21, 1876. At that time the design was changed from octagonal to square tapered towers. Most of the square tapered towers had an attached 11/2 storey, gable-roofed house with lean-to storage shed. West Point has a total height of 67 feet 8 inches from ground to vane. It is the tallest of the Island lights. When it was built it was painted with broad red stripes on the white background. However, the red paint faded so badly that mariners complained that the day marks were not visible from any distance. Eventually, in 1915, the red stripes were replaced by black paint on the grounds that black is more durable than red.

The same Order -in-Council , dated November 3, 1873 which authorized the construction of West Point also authorized the following lighthouses to be built: Miminegash, Cape Egmont, St. Peter's Island, Wood Island, Cape Bear, Souris, Cable Head, New London and Cape Kildare.

Most of rural Prince Edward Island did not get electricity until 1958-1960. The coming of electricity to the lighthouses in the early 1960's meant that the light keepers were no longer needed. In many cases the dwellings were torn off the tower, although a few such as Wood Islands, North Rustico, New London, and Blockhouse Lighthouse were left intact. The last three lighthouses on the Island to have keepers were Wood Islands, East Point and Souris. Francis MacIntosh retired from the Souris lighthouse in 1990.

In the mid-1960's two concrete lighthouses were constructed on the Island to replace older structures. The Brighton Rear Range is a tall slim cylindrical style, similar to Cape Forchu. in Nova Scotia. It is sometimes called “an apple core light.” The other concrete lighthouse was built at Shipwreck Point near Naufrage Harbour on the north shore of the Island. It was built in the Colonial style and replaced the former light which had been on the top of the square house to the east of the new lighthouse.

In 1996, the Prince Edward Island Lighthouse Society was formed. Its purpose is “to aid in the preservation of lighthouses of the area and to work with the Canadian Coast Guard and other agencies, both government and non-profit groups, to achieve the safekeeping of the buildings, artifacts and records of Prince Edward Island Lighthouses. The Society publishes a newsletter, The Guiding Light, three times yearly.

At present there are seven lighthouses which are open to the public for tours during the summer months. They have pictures, tools old lenses, etc. in their collections and visitors can climb right into the Lantern Room. They are operated by local not for profit community groups. The following is a list of those lighthouses and a contact for each:

1. West Point Lighthouse: Jack Peddle, Manager: 1-800-764-6854 e-mail address:wplight@isn.net Website address:www.westpointlighthouse.com

2. Victoria Seaport Museum: Karen Smith, Director (902)658-2048 karenruthsmith@hotmail.com

3. Point Prim Lighthouse: Barbara Mac Rae, Director(902)659-2412 smacrae@auracom.com

4. Wood Islands Lighthouse: Colene Dodsworth, Director (902)659-2548 dodsworthcolene@hotmail.com

5. Cape Bear Lighthouse: Christine Jackson, Director, (902)962-2525

6. Panmure Island Lighthouse: Margaret MacLeod, Manager(902)838-3568 rogmaggpei@sympatico.ca

7. East Point Lighthouse: Nadine Cheverie, Operator of Craft Shop (902)687-3498 Cheverie@pei.sympatico

There are a number of other communities which are interested in preserving and developing their lighthouses.

People who like to visit lighthouses are impressed by the fact that they can visit approximately fifty lighthouses and can reach all but three or four by car, and the ones they cannot drive to, are easily viewed from shore. In addition to the 44 active lights and the three previously mentioned deactivated lights, there are a few which were deactivated some time ago, and were sold to private owners. We are indeed fortunate that the Canadian Coast Guard has taken such excellent care of the lighthouses.

FOR MANY YEARS THE LIGHTHOUSES HAVE LOOKED AFTER US; NOW IT IS OUR TURN TO LOOK AFTER THEM. LET'S ALL WORK TOGETHER TO KEEP THE LIGHTS BURNING.

Carol Livingstone has been active in the research and preservation of the Island’s Lights for many years. She is Past President of the Prince Edward Island Lighthouse Society and the island’s leading authority on the topic. She can be reached at (902)859-3117 or peilight@isn.net.