Dropped off the Lighthouse Watch Travel Bug here at the ruins of Louisbourg’s first light, the earliest to be erected in Canada, and the second in North America. Lit in 1734, it was badly damaged in a fire two years later, then quickly repaired. The replacement lantern was designed to be fireproof, with brick vaults, a lead sheathed roof, and a water cooled oil lamp. Until the siege of Louisbourg in 1758, the harbour was one of the busiest in the New World, with the lighthouse offering guidance to thousands of approaching mariners. The operating cost of the keeper’s service including the keeper’s salary were paid for from a toll levied on incoming vessels. After 1758, the lighthouse was no longer in use. It is shown in ruins on a 1798 map. In 1842 a new lighthouse was put up to help reduce the many navigation risks and shipwrecks in Louisbourg harbour. It was a two and one-half story wooden building that also served as a residence for the keeper. The structure was erected on a massive stone foundation that lay upon bedrock. Fire destroyed this building in 1922, and the present concrete lighthouse was constructed the following year. When the present light was being constructed, during the 1920’s, local historical enthusiasts lobbied to have the ruins preserved. In 1926 the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada unveiled the bronze plaque to be seen here.
Visit Louisbourg National Historic Park at http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/louisbourg/index_e.asp