Point Amour Lighthouse

The Point Amour Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Point Amour in southern Labrador, Canada. It is not far from L'Anse Amour, and was completed in 1857. It is the tallest lighthouse in Atlantic Canada, and the second tallest one in all of Canada,[2] reaching a height of 109 feet (33m).

Point Amour Lighthouse
Point Amour Lighthouse
Newfoundland and Labrador
LocationL'Anse Amour
Newfoundland and Labrador
Canada
Coordinates51°27′38″N 56°51′30″W
Year first constructed1854-1858
Automated1960s
Constructionlimestone covered with brick and clapboard tower
Tower shapecylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / patternwhite tower with an horizontal black band, red dome
Tower height125 feet
Focal height46 metres (151 ft)
Range18 nautical miles
CharacteristicFl W 20s.
Fog signal1 blast every 30s.
Admiralty numberH0114
CHS numberCCG 227
NGA number1012
ARLHS numberCAN-665
Managing agentLabrador Straits Historical Development Corporation[1]
Heritageclassified federal heritage building of Canada, heritage lighthouse 

The Point Amour Lighthouse was part of a series of four lighthouses built in the 1850s to allow for safer passage for the increased steamship travel between Europe and the new world at that time.[3] The cylindrical tower is built of limestone and is painted white with a black band. The limestone used for construction of the lighthouse was obtained from local quarries. Other materials such as timber and brick were not as accessible and were shipped from Quebec to L’Anse au Loup. From L’Anse au Loup they were brought to the sight where the lighthouse was constructed, four miles away.[4] It was built in the series of Imperial Towers and is designated a Provincial Historic Site. The residential part of the lighthouse, completed in 1857, has been renovated and now serves as a museum. The site was also home to a Marconi Station, of which only the foundations survive.

A second order Fresnel lens with a focal plane at 152 feet (46 m) above sea level is in use. In 1996 the operation of the lighthouse was converted to an automatic system. The light characteristic is a period of light of 16 seconds with an adjacent pause of 4 seconds. A fog signal may be sounded from a separate building.

Lighthouse keepers
Lightkeepers Time
John Blampied 1857-1869
Pierre Godier 1869-1879
Matthew Wyatt 1879-1889
Thomas Wyatt 1889-1919
Jeff Wyatt 1919-1963
Milton Elliott 1963-1969
Max Sheppard 1969-1995

In the 1960s the lighthouse became automated.[5]

See also

References
  1. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Canada: Labrador". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  2. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Canada: Labrador". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  3. "Provincial Historic Site : Point Amour Lighthouse". www.pointamourlighthouse.ca. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
  4. "Construction : Point Amour Lighthouse". www.pointamourlighthouse.ca. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
  5. "Lightkeepers : Point Amour Lighthouse". www.pointamourlighthouse.ca. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
Foundations of the old Marconi Station
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