Cape Bear Lighthouse

Provincial Designated Heritage Place
2012-10-03

	42 Black Brook Road Cape Bear   Construction Date: 1881   Latitude: 46.00314 Longitude: -62.45970
Place Description Why is this place important? Special Characteristics Place Description Located in southeastern Prince Edward Island in Kings County, the Cape Bear Lighthouse is a three storey tapered wooden tower with an iron lantern. As with most lighthouses on the Island, the tower is clad in wooden shingles and painted white. The lantern and the railing around the top observation deck are both painted red. Why is this place important? The Cape Bear Lighthouse is valued for its well preserved architecture; its association with the early history of telegraph communication in PEI, and for its contribution to the community of Cape Bear. Built in 1881, the lighthouse filled an important role in supporting the local fishing industry. The original lighthouse contained an attached dwelling house for the keeper, however, this was removed in 1963. In 1946, the structure had to be moved back because of shoreline erosion. On April 21, 2015, the lighthouse was moved back again from the eroding cliffs. The Department of Marine and Fisheries established a Marconi Wireless Telegraph station near the lighthouse in 1905. It was intended to communicate with the government's ice-breaking steamers, the "Stanley" and the "Minto" which operated between Pictou, Nova Scotia and both Charlottetown and Georgetown on PEI. The station operated until 1922. Interestingly, it was Cape Bear's wireless operator, Thomas Bartlett, who first received the frantic April 1912 telegraph from the doomed "Titanic"! During WW II, German U-boats were spotted from the lighthouse surfacing off Cape Bear. Some of the keepers at Cape Bear included Luther Jordan, Hiram Hyde, and Ewart A. Keeping (from 1926-1959). The lighthouse became automated in 1959. Today, the lighthouse serves as a museum detailing its interesting history. It has become a destination in the Cape Bear area for visitors and locals alike. Source: Heritage Places files, PEI Dept of Education, Early Learning & Culture, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8 File #: 4320-20/C6 Special Characteristics The following character-defining elements illustrate the heritage value of the Cape Bear Lighthouse: - The tapered three storey wood framed tower clad in wooden shingles and painted white - The iron lantern topping the tower with exterior railing on the observation deck all painted red - The rows of vertically alligned four over four windows in the tower all with pedimented roof caps - The entrance door to the tower with a gabled roof Other character-defining elements include: - The coastal location of the lighthouse in the community of Cape Bear