Our love of the light: People drawn to lighthouses count the ways

Mayank Mani's first visit to a New Brunswick lighthouse is an experience he'll never forget. 

He arrived from India three months ago to study at Crandall University in Moncton. 

To welcome new students to the area, the school organized a field trip to the Cape Jourimain Lighthouse, a 95-kilometre drive to the east, on the Northumberland Strait. 

"It's really beautiful and relaxing there," Mani said. "Especially the voice of the seashore and the guides who are very much enthusiastic about telling the culture and history of the lighthouse."

Built in 1869, the Cape Jourimain Lighthouse is surrounded by salt marshes, sand dunes and cliffs. It is located on a wildlife reserve at the northern tip of the Jourimain islands.

In 2016, the 15.5-metre-high tower underwent restoration, including being moved back from the eroding shoreline. The  eight-sided structure is painted a classic red and white, and at the top, there is a small round room where a Fresnel lens once guided ships around the point.

An unusual feature is the Victorian ornamentation featured below the balcony that circles the light room. 

The lighthouse operated to guide the Cape Tormentine ferry until the opening of the Confederation Bridge in 1997. Then it was decommissioned by the federal government.

Beacons for tourism 

Cape Jourimain lighthouse is one of more than 60 lighthouses that dot New Brunswick's coastlines and inland waterways.

Although some are no longer operating or open to the public,  many remain beacons for tourism — destination sites for picnics, birdwatching or for simply enjoying the view. 

For locals who have lighthouses in their communities, the connections are personal. 

Kelly Anne Loughery's interest in lighthouses began more than two decades ago, when she became concerned about the state of the Cedars Lighthouse near the community of Long Reach on the St. John River.

Loughery has a family connection to the historic structure. Her great-great aunt was its first and only female lighthouse keeper. Loughery spearheaded the effort to save the lighthouse, and in 2005, the Kingston Peninsula Heritage purchased it.

"Lighthouses become personalities within their community," she said. "So the community members within those communities generally want to protect them." 

Loughery later founded the New Brunswick Lighthouse Society, and co-authored the book Lighthouses of New Brunswick. 

According to Dawn Purchase, a tour guide at Cape Jourimain, the history, architecture and scenery surrounding a lighthouse are a draw for many tourists and visitors.

"I think it's coming to see something that is historic and very noble," she said. "It serves such an important cause yet it's so beautiful. We say our lighthouse is not the tallest. It's not the oldest, but it's the most elegant." 

The Cape Jourimain Lighthouse averages 200 visitors a day, with weekends being busy for guided tours.

The romance of the light 

There are currently 51 staffed lighthouses across Canada. New Brunswick has one, at Machias Seal Island. Both Canada and the United States lay claim to the island, so Canada maintains a lighthouse keeper there for sovereignty purposes.  

The days of the lighthouse keeper bravely weathering wind and rain to keep the light aflame may be long over, but the nostalgia surrounding the role continues.

Chris Mills worked as a lighthouse keeper at Gannett Rock and Machias Seal Island in the 1990s. While most lighthouses have been replaced with automated versions, he understands the romance surrounding these structures. 

"For me what a lighthouse symbolizes is care and comfort and safety," he said. "They're highly symbolic for a lot of people. That light shining through the storm in the dark and the sound of the fog horn is really important."  

For others, the love of lighthouses goes beyond their role in bringing people to safety. Kelly Anne Loughery believes they tap into our sense of adventure, and curiosity about what explorers and mariners experienced hundreds of years earlier. 

"I think it's the sea," she said. "There's a romance with the sea, and I think lighthouses are a part of that, whether it's ships or lighthouses or sailors or far-off islands. There's just a romance to that."

Protecting the past 

Modern technology such as GPS on ships, has resulted in the decommissioning of many lighthouses. Without continuing maintenance, they eventually fall into disrepair.

The federal government's Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act was created to recognize their historic value and to oversee their sale or transfer of ownership. 

As a result, preserving lighthouses has fallen to the communities and organizations willing to pay for their restoration and maintenance.

The Swallowtail Lighthouse at Grand Manan, for example, is currently undergoing restoration because of a local fundraising effort that raised $55,000 and both the provincial and the federal governments each pitched in $85,000.

The final cost of repairs is $508,000 and only $30,000 more is needed.

For lighthouses that have been saved, communities and organizations also invest in attractions to attract tourists and help fund the maintenance work. 

In 1986, the New Brunswick Aquarium and Marine Centre purchased the Old Portage Island Lighthouse and relocated it next to the Marine Centre so visitors could enjoy both. 

At the Cape Enrage Lighthouse in the Bay of Fundy, visitors can go ziplining, take a fossil tour or enjoy a meal at the restaurant. 

In Fredericton, along the Saint John River, the Lighthouse by 540 features a small ice cream shop, patio and lookout tower. 

At Cape Jourimain, in addition to guided tours, visitors can enjoy a nature centre, museum, gift shop and cafe. 

New Brunswick tourism has also invested in promoting lighthouses. The provincial tourism website provides an interactive map of its historic lighthouses along the Acadian and Fundy coastlines and the St. John River. It offers a brief history of each lighthouse and a summary of the activities and services available on site.

For newcomers like Mayank Mani, it was good to see the lighthouse up close because it gave him the opportunity to learn about New Brunswick's maritime history.

"It's really important to preserve the lighthouses," he said. "It will remind you of the culture and history of the old generations. How your forefathers have worked, the struggles they faced and how they have built Canada."