Signal Hill Historic Site, St. John’s, NL - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

Signal Hill stands at the northern entrance to St. John’s harbor and provides a natural lookout for approaching ships. From the earliest days of St. John’s, cannons were fired from here to alert the townspeople that a ship was approaching whether friend or foe, thus the name “Signal Hill.” This practice gradually evolved to include a system of flags that were raised to indicate the ship’s country of origin or company providing further information to the port authority, merchants and agents in the city below. This signaling operation continued through the first half of the twentieth century.

Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the seemingly never ending conflict between France and England caused St. John’s to change hands several times. Various fortifications were built on Signal Hill in attempts to protect the city. The final battle in the North American theater of the Seven Years’ War was fought in 1762 on Signal Hill and saw the British finally prevail over the French.

In 1898 construction began on a memorial tower atop Signal Hill. The tower was meant to commemorate the 400th anniversary of John Cabot’s 1497 voyage as well as to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee year of reign. Many citizens scoffed at the building of this tower because of several recent set-backs suffered by the city of St. John’s, namely the great fire of 1892 and the bank failures of 1894. Nevertheless this Cabot Tower became an enduring symbol of St. John’s and can be seen from almost everywhere in the city. Today it contains mostly displays and memorabilia related to Guglielmo Marconi and the first successful transatlantic wireless signal received nearby and the Marconi wireless station which was housed in the tower from 1933 to 1960.

Signal Hill National Historic Park was established in 1958 and was the first such site in Newfoundland. Today it is administered by Parks Canada and in addition to the Cabot Tower and the various historic sites, boasts several hiking trails offering striking views of St. John’s and the harbor.

Stamp Issuing Country: Canada Date of Issue: 1-May-2001 Denomination: $1.05 Color: multicolored Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

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