List of Lighthouses on the Great Lakes

List of Lighthouses
on the Great Lakes

A list of lighthouses on the Great Lakes: If you have names and/or pictures of Great Lakes Lighthouses please submit them along with details of their location.

Fort Gratiot Light, at the entrance to the St. Clair River was the first of the Great Lakes lighthouses on Lake Huron. It went into service in 1825. By 1840, there were four American lighthouses on Lake Huron.

The first of the Canadian Great Lakes lighthouse went into service at Goderich in 1847. In the next decade several more lighthouses began shining their beacons in Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.

List of Lighthouses on Georgian Bay

Cabot Head Lighthouse – 1896
Cape Croker - 1898

Cove Island – 1859 – built by John Brown of Thorold, Ontario

Christian Island – 1850s- built by John Brown of Thorold, Ontario
Flowerpot Island* - 1897 - built by John Brown of Thorold, Ontario
Griffith’s Island at mouth of Colpoy’s Bay – 1850s - built by John Brown of Thorold, Ontario
Lion’s Head - 1903
Lonely Island – east of Manitoulin Island in Georgian Bay – 1870 built by John Brown of Thorold, Ontario
Nottawasaga Island – 1850s - built by John Brown of Thorold, Ontario
Presqu’isle – in 1870, the first reeve of Sarawak Township kept a light burning at the end of the dock at Presqu'ile to serve as a primitive form of lighthouse until a permanent lighthouse was erected a few years later. The permanent lighthouse was the first light in the spring and last light of the season in the autumn

Tobermory on Big Tub Harbour – 1885

Big Tub Lighthouse
Being Refurbished in 2012
Photo by Robert Cotton September 29, 2012
Courtesy Robert A. Cotton Collection

Tobermory Lighthouse
on Big Tub Harbour, 1995
Paul White Photo Collection

List of Lighthouses on Lake Huron (Canadian Shoreline)

Chantry Island at Southampton - 1859 - built by John Brown of Thorold, Ontario
Goderich - 1847 - The first Canadian light on that lake went into service in 1847
Point Clarke – 1859
Kincardine – 1874
Stokes Bay at Knife Island - 1885

Please remember to contact me with information, pictures, etc. of other Great Lakes lighthouses, on either the Canadian or the American shoreline. Thank you.

Georgian Bay Shipping

List of Lighthouses on the Great Lakes: If you have names and/or pictures of Great Lakes Lighthouses please submit them along with details of their location.

Georgian Bay Ships: A List of all the ships that sailed on Georgian Bay until the 1960s. This list is not complete. If you know of a ship that sailed the waters of Georgian Bay please contact me with information about that vessel, and, if you have a picture that I could post with it, that would be much appreciated.

1885: A Memorable Summer Job for Owen Sound teenage boys on the Great Lakes would have historic importance, not mention a possible exciting career opportunity.

Hindman Transportation Company was a well-known Great Lakes shipping company for many years. Here you will find pictures of many of the Hindman ships

Owen Sound Harbour – A Photographic History, by Robert A. Cotton is a book that interests my historiographical curiosity.

Commercial Great Lakes Fishing It is probably safe to suggest that the commercial fishing industry was an important part of the early growth of this region.

A Georgian Bay fishing vacation has long been a popular attraction in the Bruce Peninsula region. During fishing derbies, the regional waterways are dotted with fishing boats of all shapes and sizes.

The Georgian Bay Mackinaw, designed by William Watts of Collingwood is an example of a Georgian Bay innovator creating a vessel to service the needs local mariners.

Great Lakes fishing is an asset that is protected and developed, not only for its economic potential but also for those who just enjoy spending a day by the side of a river or in small fishing boats trying to catch “the big one”!

Great Lakes Fishing History is not without its controversy. The impact of the fishing industry was such that it played an important role in the development of communities along the Georgian Bay and Lake Huron shoreline.

Georgian Bay Travel Before the Winter Freeze-Up could be a dangerous time for mariners in the early years in this region.

A Harbinger of Spring on the Great Lakes in pioneer times, was the eagerly awaited news that a lighthouse had been lit and shipping traffic could begin sailing from port to port.

Lumber Hookers Lumber hookers and tugs were an important innovation to improve the transportation of lumber on Georgian Bay.

Mapmakers on Georgian Bay were also explorers. They mapped the Georgina Bay shoreline noting safe harbours, dangerous reefs and other guides for sailors and pioneer settlers looking for a place to call home.

Paddling Georgian Bay & Pondering: traversing parts of this great waterway in a canoe leads one to wonder about the ships of a bygone era battling the rough seas they encountered.

Parry Sound Shipping History: The Parry Sound area has always been connected to the southern regions of the Province of Ontario by a system of good roads. Or has it?

Parry Sound’s shipping history 2 is more than the tragic sinking of the Waubuno or the later catastrophe surrounding the sinking of the Asia.

Sailing Season Closing: A Frantic Time on Peninsula as ships raced from port to port delivering and picking up passengers and produce before the waterways froze.

Ship Captain Andrew Port was not only a dynamic and brave Georgian Bay mariner, he was a personal favourite historical character of mine.

Ships Stuck in Ice: The Oak Glen was icebound in 1996 but this sailing hazard has been impacting vessels on Georgian Bay since the beginning of time.

Lake Huron shipwrecks, the Hibou often occurred in the Georgian Bay region of that Great Lake due to the often violent waters that could strike unsuspecting vessels like the Hibou.

Shipwrecks: The "Asia" wrecked off the eastern coast of Georgian Bay taking all but two of the more than 100 passengers to a watery grave.

Masters, Mates, and Pilots Association created its first Canadian chapter on Georgian Bay, providing maritime safety education, and other seafaring issues to better inform its membership.

Pioneer Travel Aboard the Fly Tells the story of a sailing vessel as the tenuous link between survival and death in a pioneer settlement in the 1840's in Upper Canada.

Sailing Stories: the Captain Who Smelled his way into Port The Captain Who Smelled his Way into Port details how pioneer seamen on Georgian Bay safely sailed the rough waters without the aid of the modern technological tools so readily used by today's mariners.

Sailing Story: The Voyage of the Prince Alfred the incredible voyage of the Prince Alfred, fraught with danger for both vessel and the crew in the winter of 1880.

Shipbuilding As the southern Georgian Bay region became more populated shipping traffic increased to meet the needs of an expanding market place.

The Summer of 1844 was No Picnic for the early settlers in the pioneer area near what would become Owen Sound on Georgian Bay.

The CPR Grain Elevator Fire of 1911 spelled the end of Owen Sound's role as the eastern terminus of the CPR Great Lakes Fleet.

Georgian Bay shipping occurred long before the first Europeans paddled these waters. But the fur and timber trades opened Georgian Bay to shipping in a big way!