Grandique Point Lighthouse (also known as 'Grandique Ferry Lighthouse') is an

aid to navigation In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

for Lennox Passage, which is the channel of water between the southern shore of

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

and

Isle Madame Isle Madame is an island off southeastern Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. It is part of the Municipality of the County of Richmond. Once part of the French colony of Île-Royale, it may have been named for Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The lighthouse is located on the beach at Grandique Point in

Lennox Passage Provincial Park Lennox Passage Provincial Park is a small picnic and beach park on the shores of Lennox Passage (waterway), Lennox Passage on the North Shore of Isle Madame (Nova Scotia), Isle Madame on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, with of shoreline, an op ...

and is accessible by a gravel road within the provincial park. The site is open to the public, the tower is closed.

The first light

The first Grandique Point Light, a pole light, was established at Grand Dique Beach in 1884 (the spelling 'Grandique' didn't become official until 1956). After the opening of the

St. Peters Canal The St. Peters Canal is a small shipping canal located in eastern Canada on Cape Breton Island. It crosses an isthmus in the village of St. Peter's, Nova Scotia which connects St. Peters Inlet of Bras d'Or Lake to the north with St. Peters Bay of ...

, Lennox Passage saw an increase in marine traffic. For safety reasons, lights were established along the route. The first lightkeeper at Grand Dique was Daniel Clough, appointed at $54 per year. Daniel Clough was the son of the merchant Nathaniel Cough, a recipient of one of the first Crown Land grants on Isle Madame. This first light showed a fixed red light from a small lantern hoisted atop a pole, with a small white shed at the base for daytime storage of the light and associated materials. In the late 1800s the lighthouse was flanked by docks for limestone and plaster quarries and quays for the Isle Madame farmers to bring their produce and livestock to market. There was also a passenger ferry that landed on Grandique Pointe quite near the lighthouse. Many of these features can still be seen today. Due to erosion at the Grandique spit of land, the pole light was moved in 1900.

The lighthouse today

In 1906 the decision was made to build a proper lighthouse at Grandique Point. Constructed under contract by Lawrence Mury of West Arichat for the price or $452, the new light was ready for the opening of navigation in 1907. From 1922 to 1941 the light had a 6th order dioptric lens, showing a fixed red light, with a range of and was seasonal in operation, maintained from April to January. By October, 1961 the light had been electrified and automated, running off a 6 volt battery system (5 large single cells) equipped with a flasher and a sun switch to turn the light on and off, maintained by a caretaker. In 1963, due to storm damage and

beach erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward ...

the light had to be moved again, about southward. When commercial power was connected to the light in 1977 the light became seasonal, maintained from May 1 to December 15. In the winter of 2010, the lighthouse was moved to its present location. The light shows as a 2 second long green flash, every 6 seconds, then dark for 4 seconds, with a range of , and operates at night only, seasonally. The last lightkeeper at Grandique was Stanley Forgeron who took over in 1960. Forgeron oversaw the conversion to an automated light in 1961 and became a caretaker.

Lightkeepers at Grandique Point

Lennox Passage Provincial Park and Grandique Point Lighthouse 01

* Daniel Clough 1884-1908 * D A Kaulbach 1908-1909 * C A Kaulbach 1909-1919 * Charles Shannon 1909-1923 * John Doiron * Henry Young * Melvin Shannon 1939-1960 * Stanley Forgeron 1960-1961 * Stanley Forgeron (as caretaker) 1961-1968

Notes

References

*E.H. Rip Irwin, ''Lighthouses and Lights of Nova Scotia'', (Nimbus, 2003), pages 161, 162. *

External links

"Lennox Passage Provincial Park", ''Provincial Park and Park Reserve Series''
, includes map.
"Grandique Point Lighthouse", ''Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society Web Page''"Grandique Point Light", ''Lighthouse Digest Magazine - Lighthouse Explorer''Photographs of Grandique Point Lighthouse on ''Mainas.com''Aids to Navigation
''Canadian Coast Guard'' {{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1884 Lighthouses completed in 1907 Lighthouses in Nova Scotia Tourist attractions in Richmond County, Nova Scotia 1884 establishments in Canada