Pointe-au-Père: a hub of navigational services

Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse National Historic Site

The first decades of the 20th century represented a kind of heyday in the history of Pointe-au-Père.

As the number of navigational aid facilities and services grew, so did the crew of those required to man them—including the lighthouse keeper, keeper’s assistant, fog alarm engineer and pilots.

The result was to turn Pointe-au-Père into a thriving hub of activity.

Official pilot station
Black and white picture. Two smalls buildings.
The second lighthouse was transformed into pilot living quarters
© Claveau Fund, HR-13369, Musée régional de Rimouski

The St. Lawrence pilots officially set up quarters at Pointe-au-Père in 1905. Following the construction of a wharf (1902–1905), the government of Canada was able to transfer the Île du Bic pilot station to Pointe-au-Père, in response to the persistent demands of ship owners and shipping lines.

The early 20th century was a boom time for maritime transport, with more than 1000 ocean-going vessels embarking and disembarking their pilot at Pointe-au-Père each year!

From 1923 to 1937, the Pointe-au-Père pilot station took over a portion of the activities associated with the Grosse Île quarantine station—specifically, the medical inspection of passengers. Accordingly, the quarantine service’s physician-inspector, who was lodged on site, set out in the pilots’ bark to examine the state of health of passengers aboard all ships sailing up the river.

The Pointe-au-Père pilot station was transferred to Les Escoumins in 1959.

However, in 2000, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada selected the Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse National Historic Site for the laying of a plaque to commemorate the national historic significance of the St. Lawrence pilots.

Marconi station
Black and white picture. A small house.
The Marconi station
© Claveau Fund, HR-13341, Musée régional de Rimouski

In 1906, a Marconi wireless telegraph station was established at Pointe-au-Père. For the lighthouse keeper, this innovation was a welcome replacement for the system of international code of flag signals, serving to improve communication with ships. In its time, the Pointe-au-Père Marconi station was one of 20 wireless telegraph stations operated by the federal government across Canada.

The Pointe-au-Père Marconi station ceased operations in 1959, when the pilot station was transferred to Les Escoumins.

On May 29, 1914, the Pointe-au-Père Marconi station received the distress signals of the Empress of Ireland, which sank off Sainte-Luce in 14 minutes. The wreck of the Empress of Ireland, which took 1,012 people to their death, today remains the most serious maritime tragedy in Canadian history.
Hydrographic Service

In 1894, a Tidal and Current Survey station was established, which later became known as the Hydrographic Service. The lighthouse keeper personally measured the movement of tides and the action of currents.

Pointe-au-Père also served as an elevation reference point for several Canadian and American agencies.

The Hydrographic Service pursued its operations until 1985.

Today, a geodesic monument, laid by the Canadian Hydrographic Association, commemorates the importance of benchmarks laid at Pointe-au-Père in establishing and monitoring major elevation references in North America.

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