Port Burwell Marine Museum and Historic Lighthouse

Lighthouse

42°38′41″N 80°48′21″W / 42.64472°N 80.80583°W / 42.64472; -80.80583TowerConstructed1840Constructionlumber

Height13.7 metres (45 ft)^[1]Shapeoctagonal towerMarkingswhite tower, red lanternHeritagedesignated heritage property (part IV)

LightDeactivated1963Focal height29.3 metres (96 ft)^[1]Lensthird order Fresnel lens^[2]Range19 kilometres (12 mi)^[1]

Port Burwell Marine Museum and Historic Lighthouse is a historical museum in Port Burwell, Ontario, Canada. Located at the mouth of the Big Otter Creek on Lake Erie, the museum and lighthouse reflect upon when Port Burwell was at the height of its fame as a shipbuilding community.

History

The lighthouse, completed in 1840 and renovated in the 1980s,^[3] remains one of Canada's oldest Lighthouses of a completely wooden construction. Present in the museum collection is the most accurate model ever built of the rail car ferry the Ashtabula, which made routine trips between Port Burwell and Ashtabula, Ohio for the purposes of transporting coal. This ship was a mainstay of the Port Burwell shipping experience until the 1950s and played an intricate role in the development of Southern Ontario through its supply of coal energy. The museum's collection includes original Fresnel lenses, finely detailed model ships and a vast assortment of tools, photographs, and artifacts dating from the 19th century.

Affiliations

The Museum is affiliated with: CMA, CHIN, and Virtual Museum of Canada.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Port Burwell Lighthouse historical plaque placed by Ontario Heritage Foundation; text at Historical Plaques of Elgin County
^ "Lighthouses at Lighthouse Depot: Port Burwell Light". Archived from the original on 2003-12-28. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
^ Sutherland, Alexander and family
^ "Foghorn Publishing ... Lighthouse Explorer Database ... Port Burwell Light".