The Canadian Coast Guard has announced that it will now honor the requests of the people of Dingwall, Nova Scotia to return the former St. Paul Island Southwest Lighthouse to the community.
The lighthouse was built in 1917 to replace an earlier 1840 wooden structure that was destroyed by fire in 1916. By 1981 it was decided that the deteriorating lighthouse should be demolished and replaced by a modern nondescript cylinder tower.
At that time, some local Coast Guard officials decided to save the tower and they moved it to the Coast Guard Base in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
However the community of Dingwall, which is located on Cape Breton Island, wanted the lighthouse in their community, which is on the Cabot Trail, where they believe the lighthouse will act as a tourist attraction and help boost the local economy. It will now go on display at the St. Paul Island Museum.
Editor’s Note: If you save back issues of Lighthouse Digest you can learn more about the lighthouses on St. Paul Island from the story “Graveyard of the Gulf” by Duane Traver that appeared in the February 2001 edition. This story has also been saved in the on-line archives and can be found at www.LighthouseDigest.com. Type in St. Paul Island in the Search box and then click on the link.
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