Sambro Island Lighthouse
Encyclopedia
Sambro Island Lighthouse is a landfall lighthouse
located at the entrance to Halifax Harbour
, Nova Scotia
, on an island near the community of Sambro
in the Halifax Regional Municipality. It is the oldest surviving lighthouse in North America
and a Canadian National Historic Site.
on October 2, 1758 which placed a tax on incoming vessels and alcohol imports to pay for the lighthouse. An earlier attempt by the colonial officials in 1752 to finance the lighthouse with a lottery was unsuccessful. With funding secured by the Assembly, construction began in the fall of 1758. Masonry work was completed by November 3, 1758 and a temporary light was first lit while construction continued. Construction was completed in 1759 and Joseph Rous was appointed as the first keeper. Cannons were used to provide fog warnings beginning in the late 18th century until the 1870s when a steam fog whistle was installed.
The lighthouse grew 22 feet higher in 1906, when two extra stories were added to the top of the tower and a new First Order lighthouse lens was installed. Acetylene
was first tested and then manufactured for the light in a specially constructed "Gas House" in the cove below the lighthouse. Red stripes were added to the tower in 1908 to make the tower more visible against the snow. The lighthouse was declared a National Historic Site in the 1937. In 1966, the First Order lens was replaced by a rotating electrical beacon but the lens was preserved by the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
. Sambro served as the departure point from North America for Joshua Slocum
's famous solo navigation around the world in 1895, "I watched light after light sink astern as I sailed into the unbounded sea, till Sambro, the last of them all, was below the horizon. The Spray was then alone..." As the landfall light for the major strategic port of Halifax
, Sambro has witnessed many shipwrecks and sea battles.
, on 10 July 1780, the British privateer Resolution (16 guns) under the command of Thomas Ross engaged the American Privateer Viper (16 guns) off of Halifax at Sambro Light. Described as “one of the bloodiest battles in the history of privateering”, the two privateers began a “severe engagement” during which both pounded each other with cannon fire for about 90 minutes. During the action the death toll was 18 British and 33 Americans. Another battle during the American Revolution
fought near the island was the 28 May - 29 May 1782 Naval battle off Halifax
, an engagement between the American privateer Jack and the British transport Observer. In a battle that lasted all night and into the next day, the 12 gun Observer captured the 14 gun Jack.
During the War of 1812
, the American privateer Young Teazer
captured two vessels in May 1813 right off Sambro Island Light before the privateer was pursued and trapped by British warships near Chester, Nova Scotia
where Young Teazer was blown up with heavy loss of life to prevent capture.
In World War I
and World War II
, German submarines torpedoed a number of allied ships near Sambro.
The lightstation was destaffed in 1988 and the island is now uninhabited. One of the three 1960s keeper's dwelling was demolished for salvage in 1989. The other two were abandoned to the elements. After lobbying by the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society
, the tower was declared a Classified federal heritage building and the Gas House was declared a Recognized heritage building in 1996. Major repairs to the lighthouse followed in 1998 when the lighthouse was reshingled and repainted. In 2003, Hurricane Juan
caused major damage to the Gas House. Despite the fact that it is a recognized federal building and donors have offered to assist in repairs, the Canadian Coast Guard has refused to repair the historic building. Many have accused the Canadian Coast Guard of essentially abandoning Canada's oldest lightstation to the elements, despite its historic status and proximity to Halifax. In addition to the unrepaired heritage gas house, the two keeper's dwellings have been left as gutted ruins. In October 2007, after the underwater cable supplying power to the island was damaged, the Canadian Coast Guard turned off the fog horn, ending over 200 years of fog warnings from the island with plans for a solar system with just enough power for the lighthouse beacon. The move triggered a protest move to protect the navigational role and heritage value of the light station. Mariners and heritage groups have petitioned the Coast Guard and the Nova Scotia House of Assembly passed a resolution in November 2007 labeling the neglect of the island as "a careless disregard for the nation's Maritime and its history of responsible government." In the wake of these concerns, an enlarged solar system was installed in the spring of 2008 with enough power to run both the light and a foghorn. The tower was also repainted. On August 16, 2008, the community of Sambro Harbour
and the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society celebrated the lighthouse's 250th birthday by bringing 150 people to the island for talks and tours. One of the derelict keeper's houses was destroyed by a suspicious fire on September 14, 2008, raising fears about the fate of the other neglected heritage structures on the island such as the Gas House.
The lighthouse is located at the summit of the half kilometre square Sambro Island. It is located on the western approaches to Halifax Harbour
, about 6 kilometres southeast of Sambro Harbour. It is surrounded by a maze of dangerous shoals. The lighthouse and island are owned and maintained by the Canadian Coast Guard
. In addition to the 18th century stone tower, the light station includes the endangered 19th century wooden building known as the Gas House as well as a fog horn shed which is in poor condition. Ruins on the island include the basement of one abandoned keeper's house, the burned out ruins of another and a partially dismantled keeper's dwelling, all from the 1960s. Several cannons used as fog signals can be found near the tower. A narrow sheltered cove runs into the centre of the island. The island is granite
, covered by a thin layer of topsoil.
A unique geological formation, an intrusion dike
, called "The Devil's Staircase" can be seen near the lighthouse. The massive First Order Fresnel Lens used at the lighthouse until 1968 can be seen at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
in Halifax. Good views of the site are obtained from Crystal Crescent Beach and Sandy Cove near Ketch Harbour
. The Canadian Coast Guard has discouraged regular tours of the island, but in 2008 and 2009 the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society
and the community of Sambro offered one day open house tours of the island and a charter company run by a semi-retired local fisherman in Sambro Head began in 2008 to offer visits to the island by appointment.
. A $20 silver coin featuring the lighthouse was issued in 2004 by the Royal Canadian Mint. Canada Post announced a permanent stamp honouring the Sambro lighthouse in December 2007.
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....
located at the entrance to Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, on an island near the community of Sambro
Sambro, Nova Scotia
Sambro is a rural fishing community on the Chebucto Peninsula in the Halifax Regional Municipality, in Nova Scotia, Canada.Located on the Atlantic Ocean at the head of Sambro Harbour, the community is immediately west of the entrance to Halifax Harbour...
in the Halifax Regional Municipality. It is the oldest surviving lighthouse in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and a Canadian National Historic Site.
Lighthouse history
The Sambro lighthouse was built during the Seven years War by the very first act passed by Nova Scotia's House of AssemblyNova Scotia House of Assembly
The Nova Scotia Legislature, consisting of Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant Governor and the House of Assembly, is the legislative branch of the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada...
on October 2, 1758 which placed a tax on incoming vessels and alcohol imports to pay for the lighthouse. An earlier attempt by the colonial officials in 1752 to finance the lighthouse with a lottery was unsuccessful. With funding secured by the Assembly, construction began in the fall of 1758. Masonry work was completed by November 3, 1758 and a temporary light was first lit while construction continued. Construction was completed in 1759 and Joseph Rous was appointed as the first keeper. Cannons were used to provide fog warnings beginning in the late 18th century until the 1870s when a steam fog whistle was installed.
The lighthouse grew 22 feet higher in 1906, when two extra stories were added to the top of the tower and a new First Order lighthouse lens was installed. Acetylene
Acetylene
Acetylene is the chemical compound with the formula C2H2. It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in pure form and thus is usually handled as a solution.As an alkyne, acetylene is unsaturated because...
was first tested and then manufactured for the light in a specially constructed "Gas House" in the cove below the lighthouse. Red stripes were added to the tower in 1908 to make the tower more visible against the snow. The lighthouse was declared a National Historic Site in the 1937. In 1966, the First Order lens was replaced by a rotating electrical beacon but the lens was preserved by the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a Canadian maritime museum located in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia.The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a member institution of the Nova Scotia Museum and is the oldest and largest maritime museum in Canada with a collection of over 30,000 artifacts...
. Sambro served as the departure point from North America for Joshua Slocum
Joshua Slocum
Joshua Slocum was the first man to sail single-handedly around the world. He was a Canadian born, naturalised American seaman and adventurer, and a noted writer. In 1900 he told the story of this in Sailing Alone Around the World...
's famous solo navigation around the world in 1895, "I watched light after light sink astern as I sailed into the unbounded sea, till Sambro, the last of them all, was below the horizon. The Spray was then alone..." As the landfall light for the major strategic port of Halifax
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...
, Sambro has witnessed many shipwrecks and sea battles.
Sea battles
During the American RevolutionAmerican Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, on 10 July 1780, the British privateer Resolution (16 guns) under the command of Thomas Ross engaged the American Privateer Viper (16 guns) off of Halifax at Sambro Light. Described as “one of the bloodiest battles in the history of privateering”, the two privateers began a “severe engagement” during which both pounded each other with cannon fire for about 90 minutes. During the action the death toll was 18 British and 33 Americans. Another battle during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
fought near the island was the 28 May - 29 May 1782 Naval battle off Halifax
Naval battle off Halifax
The Battle off Halifax took place during the American Revolutionary War involving the American privateer Jack and a Royal Naval brig Observer off Halifax, Nova Scotia. The American privateer was commanded by Captain John Ropes and the Observer by John Crymes...
, an engagement between the American privateer Jack and the British transport Observer. In a battle that lasted all night and into the next day, the 12 gun Observer captured the 14 gun Jack.
During the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, the American privateer Young Teazer
Young Teazer
The Young Teazer was an American privateer schooner that the 74-gun third rate trapped in a naval battle off Chester, Nova Scotia during the War of 1812. Young Teazer was under the command of William D. Dobson and Hogue was under the command of Captain Thomas Bladen Capel...
captured two vessels in May 1813 right off Sambro Island Light before the privateer was pursued and trapped by British warships near Chester, Nova Scotia
Chester, Nova Scotia
Chester is an incorporated Canadian village located in and part of Nova Scotia's Chester Municipal District in the southeastern part of Lunenburg County.-History:...
where Young Teazer was blown up with heavy loss of life to prevent capture.
In World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, German submarines torpedoed a number of allied ships near Sambro.
Recent history
Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society
The Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society is a non profit charitable organization that works to save lighthouses in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the largest and oldest lighthouse heritage organization in Canada...
, the tower was declared a Classified federal heritage building and the Gas House was declared a Recognized heritage building in 1996. Major repairs to the lighthouse followed in 1998 when the lighthouse was reshingled and repainted. In 2003, Hurricane Juan
Hurricane Juan
Hurricane Juan was a significant hurricane that struck the southern part of Atlantic Canada in late September 2003. It was the tenth named storm and the sixth hurricane of the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. Juan formed southeast of Bermuda on September 24, 2003 out of a tropical wave that tracked...
caused major damage to the Gas House. Despite the fact that it is a recognized federal building and donors have offered to assist in repairs, the Canadian Coast Guard has refused to repair the historic building. Many have accused the Canadian Coast Guard of essentially abandoning Canada's oldest lightstation to the elements, despite its historic status and proximity to Halifax. In addition to the unrepaired heritage gas house, the two keeper's dwellings have been left as gutted ruins. In October 2007, after the underwater cable supplying power to the island was damaged, the Canadian Coast Guard turned off the fog horn, ending over 200 years of fog warnings from the island with plans for a solar system with just enough power for the lighthouse beacon. The move triggered a protest move to protect the navigational role and heritage value of the light station. Mariners and heritage groups have petitioned the Coast Guard and the Nova Scotia House of Assembly passed a resolution in November 2007 labeling the neglect of the island as "a careless disregard for the nation's Maritime and its history of responsible government." In the wake of these concerns, an enlarged solar system was installed in the spring of 2008 with enough power to run both the light and a foghorn. The tower was also repainted. On August 16, 2008, the community of Sambro Harbour
Sambro, Nova Scotia
Sambro is a rural fishing community on the Chebucto Peninsula in the Halifax Regional Municipality, in Nova Scotia, Canada.Located on the Atlantic Ocean at the head of Sambro Harbour, the community is immediately west of the entrance to Halifax Harbour...
and the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society celebrated the lighthouse's 250th birthday by bringing 150 people to the island for talks and tours. One of the derelict keeper's houses was destroyed by a suspicious fire on September 14, 2008, raising fears about the fate of the other neglected heritage structures on the island such as the Gas House.
The Site
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...
, about 6 kilometres southeast of Sambro Harbour. It is surrounded by a maze of dangerous shoals. The lighthouse and island are owned and maintained by the Canadian Coast Guard
Canadian Coast Guard
The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...
. In addition to the 18th century stone tower, the light station includes the endangered 19th century wooden building known as the Gas House as well as a fog horn shed which is in poor condition. Ruins on the island include the basement of one abandoned keeper's house, the burned out ruins of another and a partially dismantled keeper's dwelling, all from the 1960s. Several cannons used as fog signals can be found near the tower. A narrow sheltered cove runs into the centre of the island. The island is granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, covered by a thin layer of topsoil.
A unique geological formation, an intrusion dike
Dike (geology)
A dike or dyke in geology is a type of sheet intrusion referring to any geologic body that cuts discordantly across* planar wall rock structures, such as bedding or foliation...
, called "The Devil's Staircase" can be seen near the lighthouse. The massive First Order Fresnel Lens used at the lighthouse until 1968 can be seen at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a Canadian maritime museum located in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia.The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a member institution of the Nova Scotia Museum and is the oldest and largest maritime museum in Canada with a collection of over 30,000 artifacts...
in Halifax. Good views of the site are obtained from Crystal Crescent Beach and Sandy Cove near Ketch Harbour
Ketch Harbour, Nova Scotia
Ketch Harbour is a former rural fishing community on the Chebucto Peninsula in the Halifax Regional Municipality on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean on Route 349, 17 kilometers from Halifax. It is currently inhabited by people who, for the most part, commute to Halifax and its surrounding areas to...
. The Canadian Coast Guard has discouraged regular tours of the island, but in 2008 and 2009 the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society
Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society
The Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society is a non profit charitable organization that works to save lighthouses in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the largest and oldest lighthouse heritage organization in Canada...
and the community of Sambro offered one day open house tours of the island and a charter company run by a semi-retired local fisherman in Sambro Head began in 2008 to offer visits to the island by appointment.
Commemoration
The Sambro lighthouse was declared a National Historic Site in 1937, marked by a plaque and cairn mounted beside the United Church in nearby Sambro HarbourSambro, Nova Scotia
Sambro is a rural fishing community on the Chebucto Peninsula in the Halifax Regional Municipality, in Nova Scotia, Canada.Located on the Atlantic Ocean at the head of Sambro Harbour, the community is immediately west of the entrance to Halifax Harbour...
. A $20 silver coin featuring the lighthouse was issued in 2004 by the Royal Canadian Mint. Canada Post announced a permanent stamp honouring the Sambro lighthouse in December 2007.