Well, actually, it's not a true lighthouse but a replica of a 1905 Gulf Style lighthouse. One of three separate and distinct parts of the
Northumberland Fisheries Museum, the other two being the
Fisheries Museum and the
Lobster Hatchery, the Lighthouse Museum staged its Grand
Opening on July 12, 2009.
For $8.00 ($6 for seniors, $3 for students, $20 for families) one may tour all three sections of the museum - admission to one permits admission to all. All are open to visitors from Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Featured in the museum are:
a collection from local historian, author, lighthouse expert and founder of the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society, E.H. Rip Irwin*. This material includes a library of over 110 books, pamphlets, maps, magazines, over 34 volumes of lighthouse research related to Nova Scotia, and 20 volumes of research on other Maritime lighthouses; 18,000 photographs and additional videos and magazines; a focal point, and a unique draw for lighthouse enthusiasts and maritime historians.
* In 2006 Rip presented the Board of Directors with a donation of his entire collection of research, indexed volumes of material, over 18,000 photographs & data that is now an instrumental part of the new lighthouse museum on the Pictou waterfront.
From the Lighthouse Centre
Lighthouse Museum and Research Centre, Pictou, NS
This is a scale replica of an early 20th century combined lighthouse and dwelling located on the Pictou waterfront near the Hector Quay. This type of lighthouse could be found on Caribou Point in 1916 and by the Guysborough Harbour in 1905. The lighthouse is part of a complex that is the new home of the Northumberland Fisheries Museum.
The first floor of the Lighthouse Museum contains the Rip Irwin collection and his animated map of lighthouses of Nova Scotia. The second story has a bedroom and lamp room for visitors to see life in a lighthouse when manned by a lightkeeper. A ladder from the second story leads to the light.
Rip Irwin Collection
Rip E Irwin spent 20 years researching NS lighthouses and amassed a collection of over 18,000 photos, interviews and artifacts. His collection is available for viewing by anyone with an interest in lighthouses.
Rip’s 6 foot animated map shows the location of all lighthouses in Nova Scotia with lights flashing according to each lighthouse. Students from the local NS Community College will eventually add New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island lighthouses to this map.
From the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society