Located near Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, the Cape Forchu
Lighthouse sets on a point reaching out into the Gulf of Maine. The first tower was built here in 1839 and the double story keepers dwelling was built in 1912.
This current tower is 75-feet tall and built in 1962. Keepers at the lighthouse were discontinued in 1993
due to automation. In 1996 the Friends of Yarmouth Light Society opened the
1912 keepers house to visitors, and restored the station grounds.
At the time of my visit here in 2001, the lighthouse continued as an active light. A small
museum occupied part of the keeper's house and a tea room was located in the assistant's house. I was privileged to meet a Mr. Smith who used
to live in the lighthouse with his parents and seven brothers and sisters. He
was eighteen years of age when his father became the lighthouse keeper, and Smith
helped his father by working some of the night shifts. He told of seeing his
father having to use an axe to chop ice away from the entrance door of the
tower so they could get in. Mr. Smith showed me the room where he lived in the
house, and the rooms where his siblings lived.
This lighthouse holds the distinction of being the last
lighthouse in Nova Scotia that was tended by resident light-keepers. Of all the
lighthouses I saw and visited in Canada, this one is my favorite because of Mr.
Smith. He provided history about the lighthouse and his personal experiences as an
assistant to his father, one of the Keepers of The Cape Forchu Lighthouse.
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