Cape Race Lighthouse is an active lighthouse located at

Cape Race Cape Race is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original Portuguese name for this cape, "Raso", mean ...

on the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland. The light's characteristic is a single white flash every 7.5 seconds; additionally, a foghorn may sound a signal of two blasts every 60 seconds. It is located on one of Canada's busiest shipping lanes. The lighthouse is also a tourist attraction.

History

In 1856, the first lighthouse was installed by the British Government's

Trinity House "Three In One" , formation = , founding_location = Deptford, London, England , status = Royal Charter corporation and registered charity , purpose = Maintenance of lighthouses, buoys and beacons , he ...

. It was a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impur ...

tower with a coal oil lamp turned by

clockwork Clockwork refers to the inner workings of either mechanical devices called clocks and watches (where it is also called the movement) or other mechanisms that work similarly, using a series of gears driven by a spring or weight. A clockwork mec ...

. In 1872 the lighthouse keeper was Patrick Myrick; members of his family continued to operate the lighthouse for more than 100 years."‘Struck iceberg. Send help right away.’
''The Telegram'', Steve Bartlett Apr 13, 2012 In 1886 responsibility for operation of the lighthouse was transferred to the Dominion of Canada. In 1904 the

Marconi Company The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company that did business under that name from 1963 to 1987. Its roots were in the Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 189 ...

set up a wireless radio station at the lighthouse. The cast iron tower was replaced in 1907 by a tall concrete tower and a light with a massive

hyperradiant Fresnel lens Hyper-radial or hyperradiant Fresnel lenses are Fresnel lenses used in lighthouses. They are larger than "first-order" lenses, having a focal length (radius) of 1330 mm (52.36 inches). The idea was mentioned by Thomas Stevenson in 1869 and ...

made by

Chance Brothers Chance Brothers and Company was a glassworks originally based in Spon Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands (formerly in Staffordshire), in England. It was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassmaking technology. The Chance fam ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Its optic emitted a one million candle power flash. Great landfall lights like those at Cape Race provided the first sight of land for Atlantic travelers. After the new tower was built, the original lighthouse was moved to Cape North; it now stands in front of the

National Science and Technology Museum The National Science and Technology Museum (NSTM; ) is a museum of applied science and technology in Sanmin District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. History The museum was established in November 1997. Architecture The museum covers an area of 19 hectares ...

in Ottawa. The Cape Race Lighthouse was in the news in April 1912, when it received the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...

'' distress call, an unusual event for radio technology of the era. The lighthouse was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...

in 1975. In 2006, David Myrick, with help from Noel and Liam Myrick - part of a lineage of Myrick lighthouse keepers at Cape Race, contributed wood from the cabinet housing the motor driving the Fresnel to the

Six String Nation Six String Nation is public art and history project conceived by Jowi Taylor and centred around a steel-string acoustic guitar built from a variety of artifacts collected by Taylor representing diverse cultures, communities, characters and eve ...

project. Part of this material serves as the heel brace at the joint of the neck and body of ''Voyageur'', the guitar at the heart of the project. As of 2020, the current lighthouse keeper is Clifford Doran.

References

External links

Aids to Navigation
''Canadian Coast Guard''
Cape Race Lighthouse
Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism {{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1856 Lighthouses completed in 1907 Lighthouses in Newfoundland and Labrador National Historic Sites in Newfoundland and Labrador Lighthouses on the National Historic Sites of Canada register

History

See also

References

External links