Prior Issue (Archive)
Lighthouses
Now and Then

As nations developed and grew, they also began to expand their borders and their citizens began to travel across the oceans, seas and rivers of the world on trips of exploration. They had no charts or maps to guide them and only their innate sense of nature to forecast the weather. In heavy fog, wind or rain, their small ships could be pushed onto rocky shores and wrecked because there were no horns or lights to warn them.

Historians claim that Egypt built what is considered the first lighthouse in the world around 300 B.C. at Alexandria on the Mediterranean Sea. Prior to that event, beacons were lit on the highest hills but unfortunately, when they were most needed in storms and high winds they could not be used.

New Brunswick is a province that has been shaped by its proximity to the sea. Wooden ships using lumber from our forests were built here by the hundreds and sailed all over the world. Saint John over the years, became the major port for receiving goods from Europe, America and West Indies as well as the favoured port for shipping goods. In 1791, the first light station in New Brunswick was built on Partridge Island at the mouth of Saint John harbour.

Robert Foulis was the inventor of the world's first steam fog horn. After five years of his work, his original horn was erected on Partridge Island in 1859. Foulis was originally from Scotland and, while emigrating to the west coast of the United States, was shipwrecked off Nova Scotia. He continued on his journey to the west coast and arrived in Saint John. He found it to his liking and stayed here for the rest of his life. One foggy night he was making his way home and he heard someone playing the piano. Clearly through the fog, one note, which he later found out was "G", could be heard. Living in Saint John and having been shipwrecked, he knew how valuable to mariners this sound would be. His automatic foghorn, not only duplicated that note but also sent it out using a unique coding system he also developed giving each light station a distinct sound. The horn blast for Partridge Island is 3 seconds and then 51 seconds of silence. Unfortunately, Robert Foulis never received any monetary rewards for either of his inventions. He died in poverty and was buried in an unmarked grave in Saint John.

Around light stations everything revolves around the weather and even as late as the 1950's and 60's, weather prediction was often figured out by signs. At one lighthouse, fog was predicted by little black flies in one of the windows. If there was a big flock of them all in the corner of the window, the keeper expected the fog would be in within two hours and the forecast was usually correct.

The first light house at Machias Seal Island located off the coast halfway between Maine and New Brunswick, was built in 1832. It is now the only manned lighthouse in the area. Since its inception, it has been maintained by the Canadian Coast Guard and Canadian lighthouse keepers. It is a treeless, crescent shaped island and is famous for the seabirds that nest there. Between May and late August island life is ruled by the presence of these birds and visitors and keepers are confined to the mowed areas along the shore so the nesting sites are not disturbed. However, the Arctic Terns are very belligerent and will dive bomb visitors if they wander too close to a nesting site. This island is the southern most nesting site for Atlantic Puffins. Since 1944, it has been a migratory bird sanctuary under the control of the Canadian Wildlife Service. The number of visitors are strictly controlled but tour boats from Grand Manan offer tours to Machias Seal Island.

New Brunswick has close to 70 authentic ' left in existence. This number includes those that are part of the inland system located on the banks of the St. John River. The Oak Point Lighthouse was built in 1869. Eliza Balmer Machum was born in 1916 and has lived at Oak Point on the river for most of her life. For a short time, in the 1920's, her mother was the keeper at the Oak Point Lighthouse. Her duties were to light the lamp at dusk and extinguish it in the morning. She was also responsible for the maintenance and care of the building and equipment. Eliza says, "One of the biggest thrills of my life was when I was 14 and there was a very high freshet. My mother was not able to go to the lighthouse so my friend and I rowed down to the lighthouse, climbed up to the top and lit the oil lamp."

For over 200 years, one of the greatest help to fishermen and sailors has been '. Today many are being phased out by automation because with Global Positioning Satellite, (GPS), fishermen and mariners of all types are not as dependent on ' as they once were. Most claim however, it is still a comfort to see the flashing light and to

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