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BACKGROUND

Point Abino is located on the north shore of Lake Erie near its eastern end, and midway between Port Colborne, Ont. and Buffalo, N.Y.

In the early 1900’s, water transportation was still the main method of moving people and goods. Due to the increased size and numbers of ships, as well as advances in technology, improvements were required to navigational aids throughout the Great Lakes system.  In addition, plans were underway for an expansion of the Welland Canal.

Both Canada and the U.S. improved their operating lighthouses and built new ones. This would be Canada’s last period of manned lighthouses. By the 1930’s automated equipment would make manned lighthouses obsolete.

In 1913, a vicious November gale, the “Great Storm of 1913” raged through the Great Lakes. By time the storm had subsided, more than a dozen ships and over 200 sailors were lost.  At the eastern end of Lake Erie, the U.S. lightship #82 (the Buffalo) and its crew of six was lost. These events added urgency to the planned improvement program,
leading Canadian officials to consider Point Abino as a lighthouse location.

The Point was privately owned, and by 1913 had a well established community of summer homes. Concerned with their privacy, the residents objected to the presence of a lighthouse. The Department of Marine and Fisheries Chief Engineer, William Anderson, promised that the tone of their neighborhood would not be affected by the lightstation. So, in 1917, the lighthouse was built on the rocky point, and the Keeper’s dwelling was built on the adjacent shore.

CONSTRUCTION

The lighthouse is built of reinforced concrete. Its unique shape and architecture have been recognized as exceptional, and these characteristics contributed to its designation as a National Historic Site. Point Abino is one of 13 designated historic lighthouses in Canada
Due to its location on rock, the lighthouse sits on a foundation which raises it above the water level. A cistern, coal bin and oil tanks were situated within the foundation.
The fog horn operations were also within the lighthouse.
At the top of the 87 foot tower, sits the lantern room containing a magnificent 3rd order Fresnel lens. The lens is original to the construction of the lighthouse, while the light system has changed over the years. The light was originally fuelled by kerosene and the lens rotating mechanism was wound by hand. By 1989, the operation was fully automated and operated from headquarters in Prescott, Ont.
The Keeper’s Dwelling, built to blend in with the neighboring homes, is more substantial than most lightkeeper’s residences. A four bedroom, year round house, the stucco clad structure has many elements of Arts and Crafts design. Occupied exclusively by Keepers and their families, the house was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act in 2009.

THE DEMISE OF THE POINT ABINO LIGHTSTATION

The lightstation remained in operation from 1918 until 1995. Within two years the site was declared surplus and most of its machinery removed.
The last keeper, Lewis Anderson, remained as caretaker for a couple of years, and then the site was vacated.

When a local news reporter JoAnne Columbus learned that the lighthouse was about to be deactivated, she lobbied for a historic designation, and public ownership and access. She invited citizens to join the cause. Janet Truckenbrodt, a life long resident of the area, soon joined her, and together they formed the PointAbino Lighthouse Preservation Society.
Their efforts contributed to the historic designation of the lighthouse and to the purchase of the entire lightstation by the Town of Fort Erie in March 2003.
By that summer, the group had become less active, but their volunteers continued to work with the Town to initiate the first season of summertime trolley tours.

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In the spring of 2004, a new volunteer group was organized –the Point Abino Lightstation Preservation Society. This group carries on the tradition of guiding tourists to the lightstation, and continues to work towards restoration and development of this heritage site.

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