The Doomsday List in brief

Detailed Profiles

About the list

This is a list of Canadian lighthouses in serious danger of being lost forever. Criteria: Lighthouse or light station structures in danger of demolition, collapse, serious neglect, decay as well as in danger of disposal to offshore and non heritage uses.
          These endangered lighthouses offer textbook examples of the inadequacy of Canadian government lighthouse preservation. Only 3 % of Canadian lighthouses have genuine heritage protection and only 12% have even partial protection. That compares poorly to the United States where over 70% of lighthouses over 50 years are protected by the National Register of Historic Places. 
          Current federal policy is to sell historic lighthouses off to the highest bidder. The decaying wrecks of lighthouses on this list show the natural result of that "disposal" process which treats lighthouse like parking lots or army surplus boots. Equally disturbing are the historic lighthouses still owned by the Canadian government but severely neglected by funding cuts at the Canadian Coast Guard. 
          Many community groups are striving to save these historic structures but are held back by federal policies enforced by Canada's Treasury Board.

Our thanks to Lighthouse Digest for inspiring the list.

Please let us know about Canadian lighthouses in Danger that should be on this list! We welcome suggestions from across Canada.

THE LIST
NOTE: Linked lights go to detailed information. Use your 'back' button to return to this list
Cape Roseway, dwellings and old fog alarm building, Nova Scotia
Coffin Island, Nova Scotia
Country Island, keeper's houses, Nova Scotia
Fish Fluke Point, New Brunswick
Georges Island, keeper's dwelling, Nova Scotia
Liscomb Island, houses, Nova Scotia
Man of War Point lighthouse, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Margaree Island, defunct lighthouse and dwelling, Nova Scotia.
Mosher's Island, keeper's houses, Nova Scotia
Point Abino, lighthouse & keeper's dwelling, Ontario
Queensport Lighthouse, Rook Island, Nova Scotia
Sambro Island, dwellings, Nova Scotia
Seal Island, lighthouse tower, barn and wireless operator's dwelling, Nova Scotia
Shampers Wharf lighthouse, New Brunswick
Southwest Point lighthouse, Anticosti Island, Quebec
St. Paul's Island, wireless operator's dwelling, Nova Scotia

DETAILED PROFILE OF DOOMSDAY LIGHTS
Fish Fluke Point Light, Grand Harbour, New Brunswick This lighthouse at Grand Harbour was built in 1879. With an attached keeper's dwelling at a scenic location it was ideally suited to alternate use but was sold off as surplus and has drastically decayed since. Chosen as North America's most endangered lighthouse by Lighthouse Digest magazine, it tragically illustrates the consequences of lighthouse "disposal" currently favoured by the Canadian government in Ottawa.
	Point Abino Lighthouse, Ontario Photo by Stephen James, courtesy of Point Abino Lighthouse Preservation Society An outstanding example of Greek Revival style expressed in concrete, this 1917 lighthouse is both a FHBRO recognized structure and a National Historic Site but is currently out of bounds to Canadians because of wealthy American neighbors who have cut off road access. It is facing sale to the highest bidder which is pitting the community group that achieved historic site status against millionaire summer residents who will pay millions to make it their private preserve.
St. Paul's Island wireless operator's house, Nova Scotia This hip roofed duplex house was built about 1912 to house the wireless operators who played a vital role at many of the larger lighthouse stations such as Saint Paul's Island. This island, north of at the tip of Cape Breton faces the busy shipping routes of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, claimed hundreds of shipwrecks and eventually received two lighthouses, a lifesaving station and wireless post.            The wireless operator's dwelling, a handsome building with classical carpenters features it represents a keeper's dwelling type once common but now very rare. Later used for rescue training before abandonment, it is now faces serious decay from open windows and a collapsing roof. Repairs have been carried out by a committed group of shipwreck divers and eco tourism operators who would like to take over and preserve the house but have been prevented by federal government policy. St. Paul's Island page
Photos courtesy Kelly Anne Loughery	Shamper's Wharf,  New Brunswick This lighthouse was built in 1913, a classic "pepperpot" wharf light. Decommissioned sometime before 1961, it was sold as surplus and move to its present location where it lies rotting and partially collapsed. It's decay is reminder both of perils and lost opportunities as just down the river a community group is fighting to save a sisters light, at Cedars. Could this become this? Left: Cedars Light. Right: Shamper's Wharf .
Seal Island, Nova Scotia This lighthouse, with its massive beams and natural wood knees, was built in 1831 through the efforts of Mary Hitchens, a remarkable woman that the Coast Guard has honoured by naming ship for her but not by preserving her lighthouse. Somehow denied FHBRO classification, although granted recognized status, it is facing severe neglect with leaks, rotten shingles and peeling paint. The surrounding land is under severe threat from purchase by German real estate investors who have already bought half the island and threaten access. A community group led by fishermen are anxious to preserve the light and contribute to its maintenance but are blocked by Treasury Board policies. Seal Island Lighthouse page
Photo courtesy Hubert Hall	Southwest Point, Anticosti Island, Quebec This magnificent 90 foot tall stone tower from 1831 is easily a match to scores of stone towers now preserved in the United States. The Coast Guard has abandoned it and razed its keepers houses to let it lie gutted and rotting.
Coffin Island, Nova Scotia A taller and more elegant version of the familiar Peggy's Cove style concrete octagonal lighthouse, this 1913 tower sits on a site established during the War of 1812. Although it was granted recognized FHBRO status, the Coast Guard was about to proceed with plans to demolish it following decommissioning because of shoreline erosion. The erosion was stopped by a remarkable reclamation campaign led by local residents. However current policies may force the sale of the island and the lighthouse they saved to offshore real estate interests. Coffin Island Lighthouse page
Photos courtesy Ann Drew ©
Mosher Island The burning of this coastal light in 1989 by the Canadian Coast Guard was typical of demolitions all through the 1970s and 1980s and is a fate that awaits many neglected lighthouse structures today. Although Mosher's wooden lighthouse tower was demolished, replaced by a circular fibreglass tower, and later destaffed, the keeper's houses remain intact but sorely in need of preservation work. A local preservation group, The Mosher's Island Preservation Society, has developed detailed plans to restore the houses but has been ignored and stymied by the federal government. Photos courtesy Ann Drew ©
Sambro Island The lighthouse tower at Sambro Island, the oldest in North America, has recently been preserved by the Canadian Coast Guard thanks to lobbying by the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society. However the last two remaining keeper's dwellings, crucial to any alternative use and preservation on the island, were abandoned by the Coast Guard and are in state of severe neglect. Sambro Island Lighthouse page
Cape Roseway, Nova Scotia One of the earliest light stations established on Canada's East Coast, Cape Roseway light has marked the entrance to Shelburne Harbour from 1789 onward. The site has managed to retain the keeper's dwelling and fog alarm buildings which usually disappeared soon after automation and destaffing. However these structures are now in poor repair. Their loss would be a blow to strong potential as an overnight and day trip eco-tourism destination. Cape Roseway Lighthouse page
What can you do? Call or write your MP, Senator, Premier or Mayor and tell them you want a national Lighthouse Protection Act. Help us keep the Lights and keep the Lights Canadian.

Last modified March 13, 2000 by the Lighthouse Protection Act Committee