Fort Point Lighthouse

Liverpool’s distinctive “hunchbacked” light is the third-oldest surviving lighthouse in Nova Scotia and marked the town’s inner harbour from 1855 until the Coast Guard turned it off in 1989. The light had a resident keeper until 1964. His duties included the sounding of a hand-cranked fog horn in answer to signals from vessels during “thick” weather. The lighthouse and attached dwelling have been restored to show life in the era of the last keeper. Climb the lighthouse for a view of Liverpool Bay, and try your hand at the crank fog horn. The museum is staffed by interpreters in period costume and features Maritime and Privateering history. Browse the gift shop for local crafts, folk art, collectibles, and unique souvenirs of the lighthouse.

Described by mariners as “left on port side when entering harbour”, the lighthouse was built to supplement Coffin Island.  It was eventually joined by a host of smaller lights on buoys and wharves, and even a small beacon on the town bridge, all installed to help navigate the inner harbour to the Mersey River.  It had a range of seven miles from its elevated height of thirty- nine feet.  By 1981 the range had been increased to eleven miles. Throughout the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth, it was manned by a keeper who, at first, lived in a nearby house.  Part of his responsibilities, which included regular maintenance and upkeep of the light, was to operate a hand-cranked foghorn in reply to the foghorn signals from incoming vessels as they entered the harbour.  By the turn of the century, however, an attached dwelling was added along with a storage shed which was used to house fuel oil and maintenance equipment.  The original light was red and remained so until 1926, at which time it was replaced by a flashing white light.  Three oil-burning lanterns provided the source for the light in the early years.   These were magnified by a twelve-inch round reflector.  The light was electrified in 1951 and in 1964 it was automated or “made unwatched”.  The Fort Point lighthouse was decommissioned in 1989.  Today, you can enter and explore the lighthouse and learn more about it’s history and the site through the interactive interpretive program.

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