FHBRO # 90-132

LOL # It was 1084 before it was decommissioned

BUILT 1880-81

POSITION 46 57 O3.4 N 63 59 40.8 W at the outer entrance to Tignish Harbour

LIGHT Not applicable

FOCAL POINT Not applicable

TOWER HEIGHT 8.2 m (27 ft)

NOMINAL RANGE Not applicable

The Big Tignish or Jude’s Point Lighthouse was constructed in 1880 and put into operation in 1881. The lighthouse is located at the entrance to the Main Channel or Tignish Run, which cuts through a sandy beach at Jude’s Point. It overlooks the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the northwest shore of Prince Edward Island. The square, wooden lighthouse is typical of range lights built during that era. In fact, until 1989, this lighthouse was actually a back range light. In that year, it was converted to a coastal lighthouse. The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1997.

The gallery is mounted on iron brackets, which is not uncommon on range lights. The shingled wooden tower has no attached dwellings and only minor changes have been made to the lighthouse over the many years that it had been in operation. Originally it had a one broad black band around the middle. It is not known when the band was removed. Before the construction of the tower there were two fixed beacons that were hoisted on masts. The beacons were destroyed on October 29th, 1878, after one year of operation. The tower was designed by the Department of Marine and built by Henry Williams. The lighthouse was operated using oil until electricity came to Tignish in 1954. The construction of this lighthouse helped in the development of the local fishing industry.

For a time after being decommissioned the lighthouse was in a state of poor repair. Some repairs have been made and there is interest in having the lighthouse turned over to a community group for preservation and development, possibly as a memorial to area fishermen lost at sea.