Peggys Point Lighthouse, also known as Peggys Cove Lighthouse, is an active
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
and an iconic
Canadian image. Located within
Peggy's Cove,
Nova Scotia, it is one of the busiest
tourist attractions in the province and is a prime attraction on the
Lighthouse Trail scenic drive. The lighthouse marks the eastern entrance of St. Margarets Bay and is officially known as the Peggys Point Lighthouse.
Description
The classic red-and-white lighthouse is still operated by the
Canadian Coast Guard, and is situated on an extensive
granite outcrop at Peggys Point, immediately south of the village and its cove. This lighthouse is one of the most-photographed structures in
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (french: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundlan ...
and one of the most recognizable lighthouses in the world.
Visitors may explore the granite outcrop on Peggys Point around the lighthouse; despite numerous signs warning of unpredictable surf (including one on a bronze plaque on the lighthouse itself), several visitors each year are swept off the rocks by waves, sometimes
drowning.
History
The first lighthouse at Peggys Cove was built in 1868 and was a wooden house with a beacon on the roof. At sundown, the keeper lit a
kerosene oil lamp magnified by a
catoptric reflector (a silver-plated mirror) creating the red beacon light marking the eastern entrance to
St. Margarets Bay. That lighthouse was replaced by the current structure, an octagonal lighthouse which was built in 1914. It is made of reinforced concrete but retains the eight-sided shape of earlier generations of wooden light towers. It stands almost high. The old wooden lighthouse became the keeper's dwelling and remained near to the current lighthouse until it was damaged by
Hurricane Edna in 1954 and was removed. The lighthouse was automated in 1958. Since then, the red light was changed to white light, then to a green light in the late 1970s. Finally to conform to world standards the light was changed to red in 2007.
The lighthouse used to contain a small
Canada Post office in the lower level during the summer months serving as the village post office where visitors could send postcards and letters. Each piece of mail received a special
cancellation mark in the shape of the lighthouse. However
Canada Post closed the lighthouse post office in November 2009 citing
mold growth as a safety hazard. The lighthouse at Peggys Cove was declared surplus by the
Canadian Coast Guard in June 2010, along with almost all lighthouses in Canada. The lighthouse had until May 29, 2012 to be nominated under the
Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act
The ''Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act'' (long title:An Act To Protect Heritage Lighthouses (french: Loi sur la protection des phares patrimoniaux)) is an Act of the Parliament of Canada (designated Bill S-215) for the designation and preservat ...
by a group willing to look after it, or the lighthouse will face disposal. The province of Nova Scotia has discussed taking ownership but has not made a decision. In 2015, 74 lighthouses were listed which will be preserved under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act but they did not include Peggy's Cove.
See also
*
List of lighthouses in Canada
This is a list of lighthouses in Canada. These may naturally be divided into lighthouses on the Pacific coast, on the Arctic Ocean, in the Hudson Bay watershed, on the Labrador Sea and Gulf of St. Lawrence, in the St. Lawrence River watershed ( ...
References
External links
Aids to Navigation''Canadian Coast Guard''
Drone Video''Peggys Cove Lighthouse with construction side''
{{Authority control
Lighthouses completed in 1868
Lighthouses completed in 1914
Lighthouses in Nova Scotia
Lighthouses on the Canadian Register of Historic Places