Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Lighthouse of the Week, March 14-20, 2021: Pelee Island Light, Canada

 

I checked back in my archives, and I discovered that I had featured three lighthouses on Lake Erie prior to now.  I even saw a lighthouse map of Lake Erie, but it only showed lighthouses on the United States side.  So I wondered if there are lighthouses on Lake Erie on the Canadian side.  

Indeed there are.  Quite a few, actually.  So I think I might have a "theme" here for the next couple of weeks (considering I'm behind a few days with this one, anyway, that makes it easier).   And I'll start off with a historic one, which is also endangered.  And it is located on an island that is the answer to a trivia question, to whit, what is Lake Erie's largest island?

The answer is:  Pelee Island.  And I will use this opportunity to show the location of the lighthouse on Pelee Island, located on the lakeshore on Lighthouse Point Provincial Nature Reserve.

And if you zoom in on that map, you'll see one main reason it's endangered; it is on a very narrow spit of sand north of the island. In fact, the map shows it in the water.  Not good.  I'm also curious what's great about Point Pelee National Park to the northeast.  It looks pretty interesting.

Now, about the lighthouse.  Let's check in with the Lighthouse Directory.

"1833. Inactive since 1909. Approx. 18 m (60 ft) round rubblestone tower with lantern and gallery. The tower is unpainted stone; lantern painted black. ... This historic but long-abandoned lighthouse fell into picturesque ruins, as seen in a 1965 photo from Archives Canada. It was rescued by the Relight the Lighthouse Committee in a restoration in 1999-2000. ... However, the tower is still shored up by timbers and the lighthouse is threatened by wave action; riprap has been piled around the tower to protect it."

Article about preserving the lighthouse:  Pelee Island Lighthouse - Monument to Perserverance and Preservation


And so to the pictures:







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