Description of Historic Place

The Peter Island Lighthouse is a tapered, wooden, octagonal tower standing 13.4 metres (43.9 feet) in height. Located on the small, uninhabited Peter Island, it marks the southern entrance to the Grand Passage in the Municipality of Digby, Nova Scotia. Constructed in 1909, it is the 2nd generation lighthouse on the site. The original lightstation was established in 1850.

Heritage Value

The Peter Island Lighthouse is a heritage lighthouse because of its historical, architectural, and community values.

Historical values
The Peter Island Lighthouse is a very good example of early development of aids to navigation in the Bay of Fundy. Earning the reputation of the “Graveyard of the Fundy” due to its dangerous tidal currents and dense fog, the first Peter Island Lighthouse was lit in 1850 to provide safe navigation in and around the southern entrance to the Grand Passage. Rebuilt in 1909, it would operate for the next 105 years before being decommissioned in 2014 and replaced by a skeletal tower displaying a flashing green light.

The lighthouse is a very good example of the socio-economic development of the Digby region and the nearby fishing communities surrounding the Bay of Fundy. As shipping increased throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the lighthouse played an important role in guiding vessels carrying rum, molasses, and sugar, manufactured goods, and fish and lumber from nearby ports. The region is also home to some of North America’s largest scallop and fishing industries. The current light continues to aid commercial cargo boats, fishing fleets, and tour boat operators.

Architectural values
The Peter Island Lighthouse is a good example of a tapered, octagonal wooden structure set on a concrete foundation. It is surmounted by an octagonal red lantern with flat, square window panes capped by a cylindrical shaped vent. The structure’s wide base and tapering walls provide stability during extreme weather conditions, resisting strong winds and providing a steady base for the light apparatus. It is clad in cedar shingles and painted in the traditional Canadian Coast Guard colours of red and white.

Community values
The Peter Island Lighthouse stands on rough, open terrain of an inhabited island, next to a dramatic, rocky basalt shoreline. The island itself has been designated a bird sanctuary. With its 150 year association with the region’s historic fishing traditions, the lighthouse is highly valued by the community and continues to be a well- known regional landmark for the maritime community.

Related buildings
No related buildings.

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements of the Peter Island Lighthouse should be respected:
- its intact, as-built structural form, distinctive height, profile, and balanced proportions;
- its tapered, octagonal wooden structure set on a concrete foundation;
- its octagonal tapered tower with a circular platform;
- its octagonal red lantern with flat, square window panes capped by a cylindrical shaped vent;
- its door with a pedimented cap;
- its simple geometric form and minimal detailing;
- its traditional red and white colours, and;
- its visual prominence in relation to the water and the landscape.