Seal Island Needs Help – Soon
Canada’s second oldest wooden lighthouse is rotting away! It was re-shingled in the past few years, but the windows were covered up and no provision was made for ventilation!
Vestiges of this once-vital lightstation remain, but the future does not look bright for the historic Seal Island lighthouse. De-staffed in 1990, the station includes the 1831 lighthouse, a barn built in the 1940s, the 1950s-vintage radio operator’s house, and an engine room built in 1990. The Coast Guard solarized the station about a decade ago, although they retained the generators to power the 2,000 watt electric fog horn.
In the summer of 2009, Coast Guard technicians installed new solar panels and two small wind generators as part of a new, battery system for the fog horn. At last word, the batteries were on order. During a foggy October day around Thanksgiving, the horn was silent, and it appeared that the fog detector was not operating.
Until recently, students from Acadia University used the radio operator’s house as a base during bird-banding activities, but local reports indicating lead paint contamination led to the Coast Guard to suspend the use of the house. Today it sits derelict, although it still contains furniture and supplies.
The light tower, a unique Pre-Confederation building with huge framing timbers capped by ship’s knees, is rotting because of lack of ventilation.
The NSLPS has prepared a letter for the Coast Guard’s Regional Director, expressing concern about the state of this station and hopes that the all structures will remain pending the enactment of the Lighthouse Protection Act.
It would be shameful if this important pre-Confederation building were allowed to rot away. It is the oldest wooden lighthouse in Nova Scotia, and the second-oldest wooden lighthouse in Canada. |
