Wood Islands Lighthouse Water Pump - Wood Islands, PEI
Posted by: 
T0SHEA
N 45° 57.069 W 062° 44.778
20T E 519661 N 5088651
Now a museum and interpretive centre, the Wood Islands Lighthouse served shipping in the area for close to 120 years before its retirement in the 1990s.
Waymark Code: WMPNP9
Location: Prince Edward Island, Canada
Date Posted: 09/27/2015
Views: 3
Given that the lighthouse was moved inland in 2009, we imagine that this pump would have been moved along with the lighthouse and is no longer on its original well. We couldn't get any water out of it, so we're guessing it is now just a display pump. All cast iron, the pump was made by the James Smart Manufacturing Co. of Brockville, ON. It was Canada's oldest factory of its type, opening in 1854, specializing in household and industrial hardware. They made and sold their products countrywide with a large export market. The business closed it's doors in Brockville in 1967.
In March 2009 the lighthouse was moved inland about 70 metres to put some distance between it and the eroding shoreline. Prior to that it had shone its light out to sea since its completion in 1876. A grand sum, $6,000, was allotted for its construction in 1874, yet it required two years to complete.
The Wood Islands, PEI to Caribou, NS ferry service began running in 1941 and a fog horn was added to the lighthouse in that year to aid the ferries when attempting to land on foggy days, which are not infrequent. By 1990 the lighthouse was fully automated, seeing the departure of the last of its keepers, one Leon Patton. This lighthouse was one of the final three to have a resident keeper, the others being East Point and Souris East lighthouses.
Now surrounded by Wood Islands Provincial Park, the lighthouse, now museum, offers visitors a view into the past of both the lighthouse and the seafarers which it served. With its keeper's residence still attached, the museum is a complete recreation of a lightkeeper's residence and lighthouse, with many interpretive and informational artefacts, plaques and signs in the 10-plus themed rooms to pique the visitor's interest. From the lantern room atop the lighthouse one is afforded a panoramic view of the area, which on a clear day, allows one to see as far as Nova Scotia, to the south.
