Community rallies to save 200-year-old Seal Island lighthouse

A nearly 200-year-old wooden lighthouse on a remote island about 30 kilometres off southwest Nova Scotia is facing an uncertain future.

The Seal Island lighthouse, the oldest wooden lighthouse in Nova Scotia, was built in 1831 by local families and played a vital role in saving the lives of countless seafarers navigating the area.

The lighthouse was given recognized heritage status by the Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office in 2009.

Now under the control of the Canadian Coast Guard, the structure is still in use as a beacon, but has fallen into disrepair.

Fearful that there are plans to replace the structure with a metal tower, the community formed a group in 2022 to ensure the existing lighthouse is preserved for future generations.

Deep family ties

The group is made up of people with deep family ties to the island, some are descendants of former lighthouse keepers.

Jamie Symonds is vice-president of the Seal Island Lighthouse Preservation Society and says his father spent time on Seal Island when he was growing up. 

"He said he learned how to play basketball in the lighthouse," Symonds said.

"A lot of families in the 1950s and 1960s, would move to Seal Island for a few months during the year. Either they fish from there or they had a relative that was the lighthouse keeper at one point. So there's a sense of family connection."

Symonds said the society was set up to raise awareness and community support for preserving the lighthouse while also influencing decisions about its future.

According to Symonds, some recent water damage to the structure was caused by a leaky window the coast guard installed while preparing to put in a new foghorn.

Structurally sound

Symonds said he has been told the lighthouse is still structurally sound despite some water damage.

The coast guard also replaced a door on the lighthouse in August after a break-in, he said.

He said the group has been told that government estimates it will cost $2.5 million to preserve the lighthouse but they believe a more realistic estimate could be about half that amount.

Symonds said the society recognizes there are challenges in making a case for investing in preserving the lighthouse when there are competing priorities like addressing hunger and homelessness.

He said the society does not want to take ownership of the lighthouse but wants the government to take responsibility for it and keep it in operation.

Petition in parliament

Chris d'Entremont, MP for West-Nova, presented a petition in parliament in March asking that the federal government continue to maintain the lighthouse because of its historic significance, Symonds said.

The minister of fisheries responded saying the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard are investigating various options and are willing to work with a municipality or non-profit group to preserve the heritage value of the lighthouse.

Samantha Brannen, executive director for the Barrington Museum Complex, which features an 11-metre-high replica of the top half of the Seal Island lighthouse, told Information Morning Nova Scotia the lighthouse's location had great importance when it was established.

She said it was on the route to the Bay of Fundy, which was a key colonial shipping route.

"Storms and currents and local reefs and rocks made it a deadly area for all shipping before the advent of the lighthouse in 1831 and later the introduction of radar and radio satellite."

Mary Hichens advocacy

Brannen said the lighthouse was built because of the advocacy of Mary Hichens, a Barrington woman who met her husband after he survived a shipwreck off Cape Sable Island.

Hichens was distressed by stories she heard about the wrecks off Seal Island, which had taken hundreds of lives, and had nightmares about them.

She pleaded with her husband and they moved to the island in 1823 with the sole purpose of saving shipwreck survivors.

Denyse Contrasty, the president of the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society, said even if the community gets the federal government to fix the lighthouse, it will still need to be constantly maintained because of its heritage designation.

"It's going to be an uphill battle, but I think they're in a good mindset and life is full of surprises," Contrasty said.

Symonds said Eddie Nickerson, the warden for the Municipality of the District of Barrington, has attended the society's meetings and will help champion the cause at the municipal and provincial levels.

Symonds said he hopes federal officials realize the emotional significance of the lighthouse to many in the community.

"It's a symbol of home and for a lot of people, it's a symbol of peace. The people that go to the island, they reflect on that simpler time."