4

View to the south from the Point Atkinson Lighthouse tower.
August, 2004
Point Atkinson, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

5

Mama Baker and some of her children and grandchildren, and her last husband, Squamish Jacob.
1900
Lower Mainland, British Columbia, Canada

6

Mama Baker and John Baker, Sr., were Squamish members who lived at Sk'íwitsut. The Bakers are the ancestors of many current Squamish members, and Baker remains a very common last name among Squamish First Nation members.

7

4 stage telescope.
1900

Credits:
Courtesy of the Vancouver Maritime Museum.

8

Captain George Vancouver is credited with renaming Sk'íwitsut Point Atkinson in 1792. Vancouver was surveying the British Columbia coast on behalf of the British government as part of an expedition to confirm the area as British territory against competing claims from Russian and Spanish imperial powers who were also interested in gaining ownership of the coast and wealth from the fur trade.

Vancouver visited what is now known as Burrard Inlet on June 14 and noted that he named the projecting point after a "particular friend," Atkinson. It is unclear which Atkinson he meant when he wrote this. However, like many of Vancouver's names for geographical features along the coast, "Point Atkinson" stuck. The name confirmed Britain's interest in the area.

9

The eastern view from the Point Atkinson lighthouse
August, 2004
Point Atkinson, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

10

A little less than a hundred years after Vancouver's visit, the waterway now known as Burrard Inlet had become an important centre of trade. Vancouver was rapidly becoming a prominent commercial centre on the Pacific coast of North America, with ships from as far away as Asia, Russia and Europe docking in the port. The protection of international trade pushed the federal Ministry of Marine to build the lighthouse at the entrance to the Port of Vancouver.

11

The western view from the Point Atkinson lighthouse
August, 2004
Point Atkinson, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

12

The first proposed location for the lighthouse was Passage Island, further west than Point Atkinson at the entrance to Howe Sound. However, the Minister of Marine agreed with a recommendation that Point Atkinson would provide a better vantage point from which to protect ships passing in and out of Burrard Inlet.

13

The lighthouse building at Point Atkinson was constructed in 1874 but was not officially opened until early 1875 because the arrival of the light was delayed. Construction was contracted to Arthur Finney for $4,250. Finney brought over the necessary workers, supplies and equipment to Point Atkinson by boat from Victoria in May 1874 and building was completed that summer. The lighthouse would have been ready to open in 1874 but the wrong light was sent and another had to be ordered. It arrived and was installed in January 1875. The first light keepers, Edwin and Ann Woodward, took up their post in March 1875.

14

Postcard of Point Atkinson Lighthouse.
1910
Point Atkinson, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

15

The building consisted of a small house with large tower above. The tower was ninety-five feet above sea level and was visible from fourteen miles away on a clear night.

16

Buildings at Point Atkinson.
4 September 1955
Point Atkinson, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

17

Later an addition on the east side provided expanded living quarters for the keeper and his family. In 1889, a fog alarm building was added just west of the tower. The current sixty foot white hexagonal concrete tower with six buttresses was built in 1912. The same year saw the relocation of the fog alarm building to the front of the tower. A fourteen room duplex was built for the keeper, the assistant keeper and their families. The dwelling was replaced in the 1970s by the two houses that are on the Point now.