Standing in the Bay of Fundy, 13km south of Grand Manan Island, the Gannet Rock Lighthouse was first lit in 1831. The rock islet on which it stands is no more than 12 meters high and approximately 91 meters long, at high tide.
In 1824 the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick passed a bill requiring that a lighthouse be built south of Grand Manan. Dangerous shoals in the area were a hazard to ships entering the Bay of Fundy en route to the port of Saint John. The six storey hexagonal wooden tower is 12.6 meters tall and originally had a non-electric flashing red lantern. A mixture of whale oil and turpentine, along with other flammable substances was burned in the lamp.
As well as the lighthouse tower, a dwelling for the lighthouse keeper was constructed in 1831. The cost of building both structures at the time was $1,170. The house was rebuilt in 1884 and again in 1887. In 1845 a 3.7 meter tall granite retaining wall was built to safeguard the structure. In 1905 a further 3.7 meter tall concrete wall was added to towers base and its height was increased to seven storeys. A new lantern was built to house a second-order Fresnel lens. Pressurized petroleum vapour was burned in the lamp, producing a light with an intensity of 85,000 candlepower. In 1907 the light station acquired a diaphone foghorn, which was housed in a newly constructed fog alarm building.
an 1855 illustration of Gannet Rock Lighthouse
In 1906 a new keepers residence was built of brick, and in 1931 this was in turn replaced by a 21⁄2 storey reinforced concrete dwelling attached to the lighthouse tower. In 1911, telephone cable was laid from Grand Manan to Gannet Rock. In 1967 the lantern and lens were removed from the tower, which was suspected of being inadequate to support their weight. They were replaced by an aluminum lantern containing a rotating airport beacon. The reassembled Fresnel lens is now housed in the Grand Manan Museum in Grand Harbour.
Parks Canada has designated both the lighthouse tower and the lightkeepers residence as Recognized Heritage Federal Buildings. The tower was recognized in 1991 as being “the most isolated light station on the Fundy coast”, and “the second-oldest wooden tower within Canada”.
Gannet Rock was staffed from 1831 until 1996, when the last keepers were removed from the then fully automated light station. Sadly, it was declared “surplus to requirements” by the Canadian Coast Guard in 2010 and is no longer being maintained. The site has continued to deteriorate and by late 2010 the Coast Guard deemed Gannet Rock “no longer safe for maintenance crews to visit”.
