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 Cape
Forchu Lightstation is the Beacon to Canada. The Cape has been welcoming
visitors since 1604, when Samuel de Champlain landed and named the area
Cap Forchu, meaning forked tongue of land. By the mid-nineteenth
century, the Town of Yarmouth was a booming seaport with vessels coming
in an out of the harbour and therefore the Cape was the ideal position
for a lighthouse and foghorn; by 1870, Yarmouth was at its peak and was
the second largest port of registry in Canada.
Here the lighthouse
could protect vessels both approaching and entering the harbour. And so
the Cape Forchu light, also commonly known as the Yarmouth Light, was
constructed in 1839. The light itself stood 126 feet above sea level and
91 feet above ground. In 1869, a fog alarm was installed that sounded
with a four-second blast every 26 seconds. The alarm was kept in another
building away from the light, and in heavy storms, the keeper had to
make a dangerous march along a narrow, exposed path overlooking cliffs
to tend to the fog alarm.
The light in the
original tower was lit on January 15th, 1840. The first lighting
apparatus was a kerosene lamp and had to be watched carefully for it
could easily go out. It was later changed to a kerosene-fueled vapor
system. A tank of kerosene was lugged up the circular steps every
evening, heated until it became a vapor and fed into a mantle. One
lightkeeper, Herbert Cunningham, said that in his 30 year tenure, he
climbed the tower stairs at least 47,000 times. Life as a lightkeeper
became a lot easier when, in 1940, electricity finally came to the Cape.
 It
was then replaced in 1962 by a globe made up of a series of prismatic
rings of glass; each ring cut at such mathematically precise angles
that, as the globe rotated, the light from within refracted and
reflected to send rays out over the ocean. The fundamental theory was
simple: a bright light inside a revolving globe. The white beam of light
was visible up to 32 kilometers [20 miles]. The first Cape Forchu lens
was built in France by a French physicist named Augustin-Jean Fresnel,
who improved the way lighthouses radiated light by replacing mirrors
with compound lenses. These flashes not only warned sailors of impending
danger, but actually identified the particular light. The lens weighed
approximately 3,300 pounds and was surrounded by a ring of 360 prisms.
The cost was $38,000.00.
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The Beacon to Canada...
The heart of a
lighthouse is the great beacon beaming from its lantern. The Cape
Forchu Lightstation is the Beacon to Canada. It has been guiding
vessels into the Yarmouth Harbour since it was erected and lit in
1840 and is always dispelling the night with a brilliant, guiding
ray. This distinctive light evokes an aura of romance and
imagination that has drawn visitors to the site for over a century.
The Beacon to Canada
Canadas Beacon to the world,
thats me , and proud to be;
for I have saved many a ship,
with my calling and my beam.
Stationed at cape Forchu,
three sixty-five and twenty-four;
a lamp in natures window,
offering shelter from the storms.
Yes, at times it was ever so lonely,
and at times the weather hard;
but now as a sentinel retired,
I can sleep with dreams unmarred.
And with a new life as a tourist guide,
at this treasure on the rocks;
I invite you all to visit,
have some lunch, well have a talk.
And bring your camera for pictures,
to catch the panoramic scene;
Ill tell you what I remember,
and you can tell me where youve been.
For you Ill pose tall,
straight, and slender,
though with some wrinkles
around the eyes;
Canadas beacon to the world,
red and white against the sky.
Gary Kent: Jan.21/08
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Keepers of the Light...
Before automation, sixteen consecutive
principal lightkeepers maintained this site, including both the old
lighthouse and the applecore lighthouse.
Learn more...
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 The
double dwelling at the lightstation is a storey and a half, wood frame
structure, built in 1912, and it still stands today. It was constructed
from a standard Department of Marine and Fisheries plan which was
repeated at a number of stations across the country and painted in the
traditional Canadian Coast Guard white with red trim. The storage shed
was believed to have been constructed about the same time. The dwelling
assumed a role in the Canadian Coast Guard beyond that of a residence.
The light itself was automated, but the south side of the residence was
used as a central monitoring station for all the lightstations in the
southern part of Nova Scotia. The principal keeper lived in the north
half of the house and the second keeper occupied a bungalow to the north
of the house. The light functioned 24 hours a day. The double dwelling
and the shed are now the oldest structures of the site. The bungalow,
occupied by the second keeper, and the garage were constructed in the
late 1970s.
In 1961, the old Cape Forchu lighthouse tower with its majestic beauty
was demolished. With timbers so weakened by high winds and rotted by
age, it had served its purpose well and it was doubtful whether it would
have stood much longer. It had guided mariners safely into Yarmouth
Harbour for 122 years. Fortunately, the Yarmouth County Historical
Society did manage to obtain the great Fresnel light from the
government. Today the Fresnel lens still remains in the museum and is
viewed by thousands yearly. The existing lighthouse was erected in 1964
at a cost of $66,000.00.
The new lighthouse
was built by Kenney Construction Co. Ltd. of Yarmouth. Today,
silhouetted against the sky, stands the 75 foot lighthouse. It was
designed by L.E Slaght and it is said to be the first of this type built
in Canada. Solidly constructed of concrete eight inches thick and
reinforced with 12 tons of steel bars, the unique applecore style
lighthouse rises 23 meters above the ground. The lighthouses
one-million candlepower beam could be seen over 30 nautical miles out to
sea. The applecore style is the prototype for its kind in the world, and
was so named because of its resemblance to an applecore. The tower was
built in this slender shape to withstand the power of the wind. The
narrow shape, measuring only 5 feet [1.5 meters] in diameter, allows the
wind to travel around the tower instead of against it. A spiral stairway
winds its way to the top; no visitors are permitted inside because of
the limited space. At the peak, its hexagonal shape flares outward like
an inverted cone. On the top of the cone is a lantern 10 feet in
diameter which encloses the light, and on the outside a 2 ½ foot wide
walkway.
 The
current light is produced by an automated 250-watt bulb. The revolving
light can be seen 10 miles further out to sea than the old one.
Operation is completely automatic, even to the changing of the burned
out bulbs. The present day fog alarm is electric. Basically, all it
takes to operate manually is the push of a button.
In 1980, Cape Forchu became the monitoring station for automated
lighthouses on the South Shore, using the Intrac 2000 system. In fact,
it had several lightkeepers who oversaw the systems sophisticated
monitor that kept an electronic eye on other lighthouses operating in
the area. While this state of the art equipment could monitor up to 64
unstaffed lighthouses, about 20 other lighthouses were actually
controlled by the Cape Forchu system. In 1993, Cape Forchu was automated
and de-staffed. Monitoring was transferred to LEtete, New Brunswick.
In the mid 1990s, it became apparent that lighthouses were being
de-commissioned and were in great danger of being demolished. Petitions
were distributed in support of the light and the first meeting of the
Friends of the Yarmouth Light Society committee and the public was held
on January 17, 1996. The founding members of the society were Nancy
Knowles, Joan Jenkins, Joan Thibault, Dawn-Marie Skjelmose, Mauritta
Fevens, and Linda Campbell. [see the Friends of the Light section for
more history]
 For
nearly two centuries, the Light had endured natures power, but a modern
day problem threatned its existence. In March 2000, the Canadian Coast
Guard found lead paint after an environmental assessment, and put a lock
on the gate to the site. The assessment was required prior to the
advance transfer of the lightstation from the Coast Guard to the
Municipality of Yarmouth. Public access to some parts of the site would
be restricted and might jeopardize the May 22nd, 2000 season opening.
But in December of that same year, the provincial standards governing
disposal of contaminated soil were taken off the hazardous waste list
regulations and the soil was allowed to be disposed of in municipal
landfills. The approximate cost of the cleanup: $168,000.00.
 On
June 1, 2000, it became the first operating lightstation in Canadian
history to be transferred to a municipality by the Department of
Fisheries and Oceans under the Alternative Use Program. The proposed
agreement concluded that the lightstation be transferred to the
municipality for one dollar in exchange for the delivery of services.
The agreement also set out the municipalitys responsibility to
undertake a cleanup of environmental contaminants on the site. The
municipality of the District of Yarmouth, through a property lease,
entrusted the care of the site to the Friends of the Yarmouth Light
Society. This transfer was the first of its kind and was being watched
by lighthouse preservation societies across the country.
In 2003, the Cape Forchu Lightstation was designated by the Province of
Nova Scotia as a registered Heritage property
Today, the Cape Forchu Lightstation is a significant tourism draw. The
light itself, the 19 acres of well groomed grounds, the view of
Yarmouths working harbour and the drive to the Cape through the very
heart of an active fishing community, are all emblematic of Nova
Scotias coastal heritage. The tower stands as a proud symbol of
dedication and service and maintains a 169 year old tradition of guiding
vessels in and out of Yarmouth Harbour: it is truly a Historical
Landmark. As the light shines the way across the water, we are reminded
of our historic and economic ties to the sea
.
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