Little iron lighthouse to be returned to remote corner of Cape Breton

From canadaeast.com

A "historical treasure" lost decades ago is coming home to a remote Cape Breton community.

The St. Paul Island lighthouse has been on display at the Canadian Coast Guard base at the edge of Halifax harbour since the early 1980s.

It was removed from its windswept perch on the southwest side of St. Paul Island, 25 kilometres off the north coast of Cape Breton, to make way for a modern, fibreglass structure.

The St. Paul Island Historical Society has been trying for years to get the federal Fisheries Department to return the lighthouse to Cape Breton.

On Thursday, two Tory members of the Nova Scotia legislature — Cape Bretoners Keith Bain and Cecil Clarke — announced the lighthouse will be moved to the community museum in Dingwall.

"We are very pleased with the news the lighthouse is coming back to us," said Hamilton Carter, president of the society.

"It will make a big difference to the community as it will certainly be a tourism draw, which will in turn provide a boost to local businesses."

Built in 1917, the stocky lighthouse guided ships through the Gulf of St. Lawrence for almost 70 years.

The eight-metre cylindrical tower is made from iron plating.

According to the historical society, the design represents a period at the turn of the century when Canada was looking for alternatives to wooden lighthouses.

"Eventually, the Canadian government turned to concrete lighthouses for major light stations, making this iron tower something of a rarity in the Maritimes," says the Cape Breton Museums Network website.

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