Port Burwell Marine Museum and Historic Lighthouse

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.

Port Burwell Marine Museum and Historic Lighthouse
Port Burwell Lighthouse in 2011
Ontario
LocationPort Burwell
Ontario
Canada
Coordinates42°38′41″N 80°48′21″W
Year first constructed1840
Deactivated1963
Tower shapeoctagonal tower
Markings / patternwhite tower, red lantern
Tower height13.7 metres (45 ft)[1]
Focal height29.3 metres (96 ft)[1]
Original lensthird order Fresnel lens[2]
Range19 kilometres (12 mi)[1]
ARLHS numberCAN-405
Heritagedesignated heritage property (part IV) 

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]

See also

References
  1. Port Burwell Lighthouse historical plaque placed by Ontario Heritage Foundation; text at Historical Plaques of Elgin County
  2. Lighthouses at Lighthouse Depot: Port Burwell Light
  3. Sutherland, Alexander and family
  4. http://foghornpublishing.com/Digest/database/uniquelighthouse.cfm?value=380
  • Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Southeastern Ontario". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.


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