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 East Quoddy Head Light (Head Harbour Light) The lightstation at Head Harbour, one of the oldest lightstations in Canada, has a long history as an aid to navigation in the Bay of Fundy and Passanmquoddy Bay It is located at the northern extremity of Campobello Island, which is the largest of a number of Islands in the area of Passamaquoddy Bay near the Maine-New Brunswick border.The light is known to local residents as "Head Harbour Light". Campobello Island is closer to the coast of Maine than to the mainland of New Brunswick. Twelve miles by sea to St. Andrew's, its road link with the Canadian mainland is by way of a bridge to Lubec, Maine and a sixty-mile drive through that state to St. Stephen. During the Napoleonic Wars, when Britain and the United States were engaged in economic warfare, the town of Eastport on the Maine shore line across from Campobello Island grew rapidly as a smuggling centre. On the New Brunswick side, Campobello became a transfer point for trade as well. As the Islanders said,"That's why fogs were made". Although the illicit trade declined by the 1820s, general trade flourished and traffic grew in the narrows between Campobello Island and the Maine coast. Fishing, shipping and shipbuilding were very important activities in Passamaquoddy Bay but the famous Fundy fogs, the high tides, and the treacherous rocks and shoals around the islands near Campobello Island presented considerable difficulty to this marine community. The volume of coastal trade along the Bay of Fundy and the coast of Maine increased with the 19th century, and the chain of lights in the dangerous Passamaquoddy area was strengthened by a number of other lights. The first light in the region was the American West Quoddy Light, established in 1808 on the Maine coast at about the level of the southern point of Campobello Island. The first light in New Brunswick was established in 1791 at St. John Harbour. The second was in 1829 at Head Harbour, where it was felt that "trade would be benefitted and possibly vessels and lives saved" if the point were lit. An upgraded fog alarm was installed at Head Harbour in 1880 in response to repeated requests from mariners, and in 1885 a second light was established on Campobello Island at MulhoUand Point near the site of the modem bridge to Maine. Today the waterways in the region are still busy, and the natural hazards to navigation have not diminished. The Head Harbour light continues, after over 150 years to provide an essential service to the marine community in the area. The Head Harbour lightstation is about two and a half miles from the nearest community, Wilson's Beach. The rocky outcropping on which the station is set becomes an island at high tide and it is connected with the main body of the island by more of these rocky quasi-islands. A road fiom Wilson's Beach runs to a spot within walking distance of the lightstation. Beyond that point, the station is accessible by foot at low tide. At the time it was built, the station was relatively isolated, and it is unlikely that its establishment played any significant role in the development of any community. The Lighttower is a white, wood, shingle-clad, tapered octagonal structure about 51' high. It was built in 1829 of heavy timber construction; The original lantern was replaced by the present cast iron model in 1887 The distinctive daymark in the form of a red cross has been on the tower at least since Confederation. It was placed there to distinguish the tower from windrows of snow in late winter and early spring. |
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The principal decorative touches are the flared cornice supporting the lantern base and the shaped hoods over the windows which have been replaced on all but one of the faces of the tower. The tower is attached by a covered walkway to the dwelling, and it is also accessible from outside by a door on the southerly side. Towers with attached dwellings were very practical in exposed locations where outdoor activity in stormy weather was potentially very dangerous.The original stone foundation has been covered by cement. While the structure has been reshingled and painted many times, and the daymark extended to all elevations, photographs show that since 1902, at least, the appearance of the tower has changed very little. The Head Harbour lightstation is now fully automated, and there is no keeper in residence there now. The dwelling is used only rarely when work is being done at the site and personnel have to stay more than one day. The Head Harbour lighttower is a well-preserved, historical example of early lighthouse construction in Canada. The picturesque grouping of Coast Guard buildings at Head Harbour is a classic example of the lightstation as a cultural landscape. The Head Harbour lightstation is very well known. Pictures of the site appear frequently in local and provincial tourist literature, and photographs have been featured on many calendars. As tourism has increased on Campobello Island, the picturesque setting and the abundance of wild birds at the site have induced numbers of visitors to clamber at low tide over the rocks to the point. The tower, with its distinctive red cross, is a familiar landmark to mariners, tourists and residents of Passamaquoddy Bay. Almost all of the above information is from: FEDERAL HERITAGE BUILDINGS REVIEW OFFICE 07/02/91 BUILDING REPORT: 90-284 TITLE: 4 Lightstation Buildings (Tower, Dwelling, Fog Alarm Building and Work Shed) Head Harbour Lightstation Campobello Island, New Brunswick Canada Margaret Coleman, Architectural History Branch |
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