FHBRO # 90-256

LOL # 943

BUILT 1876

POSITION Located at the most easterly point on PEI where the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Northumberland Strait meet

LIGHT In 2000 the 4th order Fresnel lantern was replaced by a 300 mm tideland lantern. Flash every 5 seconds

FOCAL POINT 30.5 m (100 ft)

TOWER HEIGHT 19.5 m (64 ft)

NOMINAL RANGE 14.5 km (9 miles)

The East Point Lighthouse is a major coastal light which serves all marine traffic using the Canso Strait to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, including the ferry from Souris to the Magdalen Islands and a local fishing fleet of almost 100 boats.

It is the last of the pre-Confederation or Colonial lighthouses to be built on PEI before it joined Confederation in 1873. It is considered to be a superb example of a wooden tower. At 19.5 m (64 feet) it is two feet taller than the North Cape Lighthouse, which had been constructed the previous year. The octagonal light tower is constructed of heavy hewn timber with a shingled exterior. It has a well-proportioned fascia at the top of the tower and a cross-braced wooden railing. Each window is topped by a triangular pediment. The appearance today is much the same as when it was built.

The lighthouse was moved twice. The tower was built about a 0.8 km (half mile) inland from its designated mark on the charts. In 1882, the British warship Phoenix was wrecked on the reef off East Point partly due to the position of the light. In 1885, the tower and the keeper’s cottage were moved 487.6 m (1600 feet) east, to within 60.9 m (200 feet) of the extremity of the point. A fog alarm building was also built at this time. By 1908, severe erosion forced Marine and Fisheries to move the tower 60.9 m (200 feet) inland to its present location. The fog alarm building was not moved and today stands at the very edge of the cliff.

Many visitors come to the site to view the spectacular scenery and tour the lighthouse during the summer months. The Friends of Elmira, a local non-profit group, operate the lighthouse during the summer. A craft shop has been established in the fog alarm building.