Last Surviving Lighthouse In Town

At one time, the Town of Dalhousie in New Brunswick, CA, had three lighthouses. One small wooden structure at the end of a wharf was sold and moved to a different town, Charlo, to stand next to a private residence. Another lighthouse, located on Douglas Island, was accidentally dropped (?) when being moved by apparently incompetent movers and smashed to pieces. One other on Rock Island was demolished when the island was destroyed to make room for a mill. Now, the only one left is Inch Arran, also known as Bon Ami Lighthouse, and the town residents want their council to facilitate its designation under the new Lighthouse Preservation Act, currently awaiting royal assent.

The lighthous, at the northernmost point of New Brunswick, has a lantern encased by an unusual iron birdcage design, not seen very often in lighthouses. Waugoshance Lighthouse in Lake Michigan is another with one of these birdcage lanterns. Inch Arran stands as one of the oldest buildings in town, and is owned by the Coast Guard, but already managed by the town. It is located in Inch Arran Park, near to downtown. The Council decided on June 16 to write to Member of Parliament, Jean-Claude D’Amours, for his help in having the lighthouse declared historic and provide for its preservation. The tower need to be scraped and painted, according to Councillor Bob Harquail.

Poor Reporting On This Story

A short story about it in the Tribune, however, is a little misleading, if not downright disturbing. In the article it states :

Legislation now before the Senate provides for preservation of a certain number of lighthouses as historic buildings. Others will either be turned over to municipalities or community organizations or will be demolished.

Not exactly accurate reporting. Although the legislation is waiting royal assent, and won’t take full effect until 2010 and communities will have a full two years to request designation of a lighthouse, no lighthouses will be harmed with this Act. In fact, the opposite is true, and Canadian lighthouses today have been at risk to be demolished.

From the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society, which was instrumental in getting this passed, is a summary of the Act.
The new Act to Protect Heritage Lighthouses:

• Provides a means for the selection and designation of federal heritage lighthouses;
• Prevents the unauthorized alteration of federal heritage lighthouses;
• Requires that designated federal heritage lighthouses be maintained in a manner consistent with accepted conservation standards;
• Facilitates the sale or transfer of federal heritage lighthouses in order to ensure the lighthouses’ public purpose.

Significant features of the legislation:

• Increased protection of the heritage lighthouses under federal stewardship.
• A clear process for the identification, maintenance and divestiture of federal heritage lighthouses.
• New mechanisms for public involvement in the protection of federally owned lighthouses:
  • Public nominations of lighthouses to be considered for heritage designation;
  • Public consultation before alterations are made to heritage lighthouses;
  • Public notice of lighthouses considered surplus to the federal government;
  • Public notice of the transfer of a federal heritage lighthouse to a community group or municipality;
  • Public meeting if a lighthouse is considered for sale to a private owner;
  • Public notice and public meeting if a lighthouse is to be demolished.

It does our cause no good if reporters can’t get the facts right. I urge everyone to leave a comment at the Tribune story (free registration is required) to let Bill Clarke (reporter) know that it’s not a certain number of lighthouses that will only be protected, that all can be, and the rest will NOT be demolished.

Photo credit: Inch Arran Lighthouse by Hellien88 on Webshots.

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