Point Clark, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
, in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is approximately 20 kilometers south of Kincardine
Kincardine, Ontario
The Municipality of Kincardine is located on the shores of Lake Huron in the County of Bruce in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has a population of 12,000, and covers an area of 580 square kilometres...
and 35 kilometers north of Goderich
Goderich, Ontario
Goderich is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario and is the county seat of Huron County. The town was founded by William "Tiger" Dunlop in 1827. First laid out in 1828, the town is named after Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, who was British prime minister at the time. The town...
. Main streets include Huron Road and Lake Range Road. Point Clark is served by Highway 21 (Ontario)
Highway 21 (Ontario)
King's Highway 21, commonly referred to as Highway 21, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario that begins at Highway 402 mid-way between Sarnia and London and ends at Highway 6, Highway 10 and Highway 26 in Owen Sound...
. It is a cottage town, and has a rare Imperial Tower style lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
. There is a sandy beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
and a small harbor
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
with a boat ramp. There are two streams
STREAMS
In computer networking, STREAMS is the native framework in Unix System V for implementing character devices.STREAMS was designed as a modular architecture for implementing full-duplex I/O between kernel or user space processes and device drivers. Its most frequent uses have been in developing...
/rivers that run into Lake Huron around Point Clark: Clark Creek and Pine River. There is a separate harbor in the mouth of the Pine River. Amberley is just outside and to the south of Point Clark and Lucknow
Lucknow, Ontario
Lucknow is a community located in Bruce County, Ontario, Canada. It is incorporated in the Township of Huron-Kinloss.-History:...
is to the south-east of Point Clark.
History
In 1850, Point Clark was originally called The Point. Later, the area was known as Pine Point as a lantern was hung from a pine tree to warn sailors of the shoal off the point, prior to the building of the lighthouseLighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
. After settlers moved in from Clark Township, Huron County
Huron County, Ontario
Huron County is a census division and county of the province of Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southeast shore of its namesake, Lake Huron, in the southwest part of the province...
, the area was known as "Clark's Point." Later, the town received the name it bears today—Point Clark.
Lighthouse
Point Clark is known for its lighthouse which warns sailors of the shoal 2 miles off the Lake HuronLake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
coast. The lighthouse is 110 feet tall, made of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
brought from Inverhuron by barge. Construction of the lighthouse started in 1857. There are 114 steps from the bottom to the lantern room. The 12 sided cast iron lantern was first lit on April 1, 1859 and is 87 feet from the base of the tower. The Point Clark lighthouse was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1966, the first Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
lighthouse to be so designated. The lighthouse was built by John Brown in the well-known series of the six Imperial Towers
Imperial Towers
The Imperial Towers were six of the earliest lighthouses built on Lake Huron by the Canadian government. The designation Imperial is not certain, but historians speculate that because the towers were public construction built under United Kingdom authority, the name would assure funding from the...
. To help build the lighthouse, several French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
builders were used. The light was first automated in 1924, but as a result of the poor quality of the light the original second-order fresnel lens was reinstalled. In 1963 the fresnel lens was automated. Its light characteristic is a single white flash every ten seconds, emitted at a focal plane height of 93 feet (28.5 m).
The lighthouse is owned by Parks Canada
Parks Canada
Parks Canada , also known as the Parks Canada Agency , is an agency of the Government of Canada mandated to protect and present nationally significant natural and cultural heritage, and foster public understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative...
. The lightkeeper's house is now a museum operated by the Township of Huron-Kinloss
Huron-Kinloss, Ontario
Huron-Kinloss is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within Bruce County. The township had a population of 6,515 in the Canada 2006 Census.Huron-Kinloss is located in Western Ontario, on Lake Huron...
and tourists can tour the lightkeeper's home and the lighthouse from mid June to Labour Day
Labour Day
Labour Day or Labor Day is an annual holiday to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for...
.
Industrial Wind Turbines
There are wind turbines near Point Clark, developed by Suncor Energy Products Inc.Suncor Energy
Suncor Energy Inc. is a Canadian integrated energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. It specializes in production of synthetic crude from oil sands...
and Acciona Wind Energy Canada
Acciona Energy
Acciona Energy, a subsidiary of Acciona based in Madrid, is a Spanish company developing renewable energy projects, including small hydro, biomass, solar energy and thermal energy, and the marketing of biofuels. It also has assets in the field of co-generation and wind turbine manufacture...
over 3,600 hectares of land. There are 38 turbines and each has a capacity of 2000 kilowatts.