Description of Historic Place

The Northport Rear Range Lighthouse is a 13.6 metre (45 feet) square, tapered, wooden tower with a straight top surmounted by a square, wooden lantern. It is located at the south end of the harbour in the Community of Northport, overlooking Cascumpec Bay. It was built in 1885, and has been moved four times.

Heritage Value

The Northport Rear Range Lighthouse is a heritage lighthouse because of its historical, architectural, and community values.

Historical values
The Northport Rear Range Lighthouse is a very good example of the federal program of marine aids to navigation for channels and harbours in Prince Edward Island. The lighthouse works alongside its companion, the Northport Front Range Lighthouse. It has been moved four times and elevated twice to suit the needs of the changing route through the channel into Alberton Harbour and Cascumpec Bay.
The Northport Rear Range Lighthouse is a very good example of the socio-economic development of the community of Northport and the nearby town of Alberton. It supported the lumbering and shipbuilding industries in Alberton and the fishing industry in Northport, which have long been important economic activities.

Architectural values
The Northport Rear Range Lighthouse is a very good example of a wooden square-tapered lighthouse with an extended straight top. It is notable for its pleasing proportions, its picturesque qualities and its use of red and white colours. Its extended tower stands out as a unique element of its design.
The Northport Rear Range Light is an excellent representation of the wooden square tapered lighthouse design built by the Department of Marine and Fisheries in the nineteenth century for use as range lights. Its lightweight but sturdy wooden construction permitted the tower to be easily moved and altered. Over the course of more than 125 years, the Northport light has withstood at least four significant alterations.

Community values
The Northport Rear Range Lighthouse reinforces the picturesque maritime character of the regional community. Set in a residential area on a flat grassy parcel of land about 20 metres from the shoreline, the lighthouse is highly visible from the water. Its accessible location contributes to its familiarity and facilitates its appreciation by the public.
The Northport Rear Range Lighthouse is highly valued by the community of Northport, both as an active aid to navigation and as a symbol of its fishing heritage. There is a lot of pride in the local fisheries, in the harbour and in the community. The lighthouse is regarded as a local landmark, and is well-looked-after. It is a pleasing piece of tourist infrastructure. The waterfront area just down the road is an attractive tourist area and the lighthouse complements this function.

Related buildings
No related buildings are included in the designation.

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements of the Northport Rear Range Lighthouse should be respected:
— its location at the south end of the harbour in the Community of Northport, overlooking Cascumpec Bay;
— its intact, as-built structural form, height, profile and balanced proportions based on the standard design of square, tapered, wooden towers;
— its rectangular wooden lantern surmounted by a red pyramidal roof with a rooftop ventilator;
— its superimposed square platform supported by brackets and surrounded by a metal railing;
— its extended straight top section of the tower;
— its square wood-frame structure with tapered sides;
— its exterior walls covered with shingles;
— its single window and single entry door surmounted by shed-roofed dormers;
— its traditional red and white exterior colour scheme, consisting of a white tower and gallery, with red features such as the door, horizontal daymark band across its front, the railing of the gallery, the edges of the lantern, and the roof; and,
— its visual prominence in relation to the water and landscape.