© Claveau Fund, HR-13369, Musée régional de Rimouski
Pointe-au-Père lighthouses
Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse National Historic Site
The site has been home to four lighthouses, in operation from 1859 to 1997. The third lighthouse, an octagonal white tower supported by flying buttresses, and the skeleton tower (fourth lighthouse) still form the landscape of the site today.
Prior to the lighthouse, a point for pilots
Upon entering the St. Lawrence River, any well-informed ship’s captain will bring a professional river pilot aboard to steer the vessel into Québec City in complete safety. River piloting dates to the earliest days of the French regime. The St. Lawrence pilots are seasoned navigators who possess in-depth knowledge of the river, currents, wind direction, tides, obstacles and hazards. For this reason, since the 17th century they have played a vital role in navigation on the St. Lawrence.
As early as 1805, pilots began working out of Pointe-au-Père, even though the official pilot station was at that time located on Île du Bic, an island lying a few miles upstream. The reason is simple: Pointe-au-Père, which juts out into the river, offers an exceptional vantage point. Turning this location to their advantage, the Pointe-au— Père pilots were thus the first to row out and offer their services to ship’s captains sailing up the St. Lawrence. In 1861, the shipping lines offering regular service between Europe and the American continent even selected Pointe-au-Père as the exclusive boarding place for the pilots steering their steamships
1859: The first lighthouse
The Montreal Ocean Steamship Company built the first lighthouse on Pointe-au-Père in 1859. As the exclusive carrier of mail between London and Montreal, this shipping company had already been stationing its own crew of pilots at Pointe-au-Père.
The shoreline’s low relief, coupled with frequent periods of fog, prompted the firm to build a lighthouse equipped with both a light and a foghorn.
The government of Canada purchased this lighthouse two years later, in 1861.
1867 : the second lighthouse
The first tower, which was destroyed in a fire, was replaced by a second one in 1867.
The first two lighthouses at Pointe-au-Père were built using the same model—i.e., a wood house surmounted by a tower housing the lamp.
The lighthouse keeper and his family lived on the lower floors.
1909: The third lighthouse, an avant-garde structure!
In 1909, work was begun constructing a third lighthouse—a more impressive and indeed avant-garde structure. Its octagonal tower rises to a height of 28 metres, making this light one of the tallest in the country. Boasting an architecture with practically no counterpart in Canada, the Pointe-au-Père lighthouse remains one of the rare examples of a buttressed, reinforced concrete structure.
Ownership of the 1909 lighthouse was transferred to Parks Canada in 1977. In 1979, Parks Canada carried out major improvements to the lighthouse for conservation purposes.
Today the bold, elegant profile of this third lighthouse continues to rise above the St. Lawrence shoreline. In the region, the Pointe-au-Père lighthouse stands as an important landmark and identity reference point; as such, it constitutes a historic building having outstanding architectural and heritage value.
1975: Automation
In 1975, a fourth lighthouse — a skeleton tower — was erected nearby.
Beginning at that time, the light station was automated, thus requiring only the occasional visit of an inspector.
This lighthouse and the associated sound signal remained in operation until the station was closed in 1997.
- Date modified :