Port of Goderich Lighthouse - Goderich, Ontario
Posted by: 
Bon Echo
N 43° 44.528 W 081° 43.484
17T E 441643 N 4843487
The oldest standing lighthouse on the Canadian side of Lake Huron
Waymark Code: WM10X2B
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 07/04/2019
Views: 4
Built in 1847, this is reported to be the second lighthouse ever built on the Canadian side of Lake Huron. Given that it replaced the "first ever" Canadian lighthouse on the lake, that would make this the oldest surviving lighthouse on the Canadian side of Lake Huron. The tower is 10.1 meters tall 9about 33') and is built on a tall bluff, so that it stand 42.7 meters (about 140') above the lake. The square shape is unique among lighthouses, which are typically cylindrical and tapered. A keepers house and outbuildings were constructed with the light tower, but they were removed during repairs to the tower made necessary by the Great Storm of 1913.
A
news report from 2010 suggests that the lighthouse was previously opened to visitors, but closer around 2010 due to a number of saftey issues. The grounds remain open and given the lighhouse location high upon a bluff, visitors are still afforded excellent views of the Goderich harbour mouth and Lake Huron.
A sign located near the Lighthouse reads:
The beacon at the top of the bluff is actually the second Goderich lighthouse, and was built in 1847 on land once owned by Samuel Strickland. The lighthouse and land were acquired by the Crown in March 1894, from Thomas Mercer Jones who previously kept a small house here. The first mention of the "new" lighthouse appeared in the Huron Signal in 1852. The original light station is thought to have been a log tower structure built in the early 0830s and located further east along Cobourg Street. These light stations were the first and second ever built on the Canadian side of Lake Huron.
Today, two highly polished concave reflectors rotate around a 250-watt mercury vapour bulb positioned to show a light sequence that identifies the port to passing mariners. A tall yardarm, once stood at the edge of the bluff. It sported a flag but was also used as a storm signal tower. Most trees disappeared from the bluff, largely to supply fuel to the salt evaporation plants, thereby increasing erosion.