Cape Bonavista Lighthouse, Newfoundland's fourth-oldest lighthouse, was built between 1841 and 1843 at the tip of Cape Bonavista. Its primary purpose was to mark the entrances to Bonavista and Trinity Bays and to guide sailors to Labrador. From its completion in 1843 until its demise in 1962, it served as the sole port of call for generations of sailors to reach land.

Location and Surroundings

The lighthouse is located near Bonavista Town, at the tip of a long peninsula on the northeast coast of Newfoundland. The town is known as one of the oldest settlements in North America. The area was a port city thanks to its proximity to fishing and seal hunting grounds. The lighthouse is typically open from the Victoria Day long weekend until just before Thanksgiving.

History and Architecture

Cape Bonavista Lighthouse is a two-story wooden structure built around a masonry tower topped with a lantern. It is one of the few lighthouses in the world where you can climb the stone tower and see the catoptric light, a device powered by seal blubber used in the 1800s . The original lighthouse was brought from Inchcape (Bell) Rock Lighthouse in Scotland and later replaced by a catoptric system from Harbour Grace Lighthouse.

The lighthouse became overcrowded for a period, so in the late 1800s a two-story extension was built to the main lighthouse to provide additional living space for the lighthouse keeper and his family, while the assistant keeper and his family remained in the main lighthouse. This extension was removed in the 1920s.

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Lighthouse Keepers

Cape Bonavista's first lighthouse keeper was Jeremiah White , who emigrated from Ireland to Newfoundland and was fifty-one years old when he was appointed to the position in 1843. White lived at the lighthouse with his wife, Mary, and their four children until his death in 1876. Jeremiah's three sons subsequently took charge of the lighthouse for approximately ten years. Thomas White's death in 1895 led to his son, Fred White . Fred's tenure brought the White family's total service at Cape Bonavista to seventy-five years. Another prominent keeper was local resident Hubert Abbott , who served from 1923 to 1960. Abbott was hired at the age of eighteen to maintain the fog alarm installed on Cape Island in 1913. In 1923, he took charge of both the light and fog alarms and served for another thirty-seven years until his retirement in 1960.

Its Function as a Museum

In 1962, the lighthouse was darkened and replaced by electric lighting in a nearby steel-frame tower. The lighthouse was restored as a museum by the provincial government in the 1970s . The museum displays furniture and artifacts representing the period before 1870, when Jeremiah White served as keeper. Visitors can experience the day-to-day workings of a lighthouse keeper in the 1870s, including polishing glass, filling gas lamps, keeping weather records, and monitoring the tides. Also on display are Argand gas lamps and a rare catoptric lighting system featuring polished silver parabolic mirrors. The museum also features exhibits on local industries such as cooperage, fishing, whaling, and seal hunting, as well as the ecological history of Cape Bonavista. Visitors can try out period toys and games, and even dress in period costumes in the dressing room.

The 2001 Fire and the Repair Process

On August 3, 2001, an electrical storm struck Cape Bonavista, causing a fire at the lighthouse. Lightning struck the cape repeatedly, and the tower was struck three times. Lighthouse personnel used cell phones to call the fire department, and the fire department's swift response prevented a worse tragedy. The fire destroyed the building's electrical system and damaged the tower's second floor and stairwell. Due to ongoing restoration work in the lighthouse at the time of the fire, the lens and other artifacts were removed for safekeeping. Exact replicas were made to replace the damaged objects, and the cost of repair and restoration was covered by the insurance policy. The lighthouse narrowly escaped this incident and is on the path to recovery.