Sambro Island Lighthouse

Canada's Oldest Operational Lighthouse is in Nova Scotia

Mar 14, 2009 Susanna McLeod

The Sambro Island Lighthouse was constructed in 1758 near the shipping entrance to Halifax, guiding vessels through the perilous rocks and shoals of the Sambro Ledges.

The British garrison of Halifax was a hubbub of activity, ship traffic was increasing but there were disasters with the dangers lurking unseen near the harbour. Rocks and shoals tore at the hulls of ships, lives and goods were lost. A lighthouse was required.

Raising money for the lighthouse was a difficult task. In 1752, a lottery organized by the Governor and Council in Halifax was a failure, according to the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society (NSLPS). Six years later, a tax on “spirituous liquors” and on boats entering the harbour raised £1000 for the building of the tower. Formed of granite rock and mortar, and completed by the the fall of 1858, the structure was 60-feet tall from ground to the weather vane and provided a temporary light by the next year.

Lighthouse Warnings with Lanterns and Cannons

At first, the lighthouse was not fully successful at preventing naval disasters. Fish oil fuel produced dim lamp light and smoked up the lantern glass. The glass also became misted and iced-over from the moisture emitted from the fuel, and there were no reflectors to enhance the glowing flame. When no ships were in sight, the lightkeeper extinguished the flame to save money. Ship captains would “fire at the lighthouse in order to make the keepers show a light,” said NSLPS. By 1772, flues were added to the lamps, directing the smoke away and causing much less smudging of the glass. Lightkeepers used a different method to warn ships during fog – cannons. The big guns were used until the 1870s, when a fog whistle powered by steam was built at the Sambro Island lighthouse. (After the fog horn was shut off in 2007 due to a damaged cable, a protest emerged. Solar panels that produced just enough energy for the lantern were enlarged to also provide power for the fog horn. The fog horn was reinstated in the spring of 2008.)

The lives of the lightkeepers were not simple. They lived in island solitude 15 miles out in the ocean from the Halifax mainland through good weather, fog and winter gales. The lamp lenses had to be cleaned every three days and, noted Parks Canada, “on snowy days the keeper cleared snow from the lantern panes while clinging to the handles of the lantern.” The weather vane that sat about 115 feet above the sea level needed regular greasing, and heavy jugs had to be lugged up the many winding stairs of the tower to supply the lamp with oil. The lightkeepers were not always desolate – families were raised on Sambro Island.

Rotating Airport Beacon on Lighthouse

An extension was added to the lighthouse in 1906, adding 22 feet to the tower height. The light was changed to a French-made Fresnel dioptric lens. The lighting system had been improved several times previously, including an iron lantern with reflectors and plate-glass windows in 1864. The government's Coast Guard department took over staffing of the lighthouse in the same year. The iron lantern itself was replace sixty years later, upgraded to an aluminum lantern with a 36-inch rotating airport beacon that flashed every five seconds and with a range of 24 miles. In 1908, three red stripes were painted on the outside of the lighthouse for better daytime recognition of the structure.

Sambro Island lighthouse was declared a National Historic Site in 1937. It was designated the highest rating of “Classified” under the Federal Heritage Review Board ratings for heritage buildings in 1996, in part for “its historical associations, its environmental significance, and also for its architectural design,” said NSLPS, and that it is “one of the most historically important lighthouses in Canada due to its age and its association with Halifax Harbour's marine traffic for over 235 years.”

Sambro Island Fully Automated in 1988

The last household of lightkeepers were relieved of their duties in 1988 when Sambro Island Lighthouse was fully automated. Deserted, the lighthouse began deteriorating until the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society petitioned the federal government for funds under the Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office. The main building was restored with a grant of $250,000, but the several smaller buildings continued declining. In the fall of 2008, the lighthouse keeper's house burnt to the ground.

The copyright of the article Sambro Island Lighthouse in Canadian History is owned by Susanna McLeod. Permission to republish Sambro Island Lighthouse in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Sambro Island Lighhouse