East Quoddy Lighthouse, NB

East Quoddy Head Light

(Head Harbour Light)

The lightstation at Head Harbour, one of the oldest lightstations in Canada is located on the northern extremity of Campobello Island, which is the largest island in the area of Passamaquoddy Bay near the Maine-New Brunswick border.  This light is known locally as "Head Harbor Light." Campobello Island is closer to the coast of Maine than it is to the mainland of New Brunswick.  Its road link with the Canadian mainland is across the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Bridge to Lubec, Maine and then a 60 mile drive to St. Stephens in Canada.

By the 1820s, trade was flourishing and traffic grew between Campobello Island and the Maine Coast. Fishing, shipping, and shipbuilding were very important activities in Passamaquoddy Bay, but the famous Fundy fogs, high tides, and treacherous rocks around Campobello Island were a threat to these industries. Head Harbour's light was the first Canadian response to this danger, built in 1829 to warn sailors approaching the craggy rocks and shoals around Campobello Island.

Detail of East Quoddy Light Lantern Room

Today, the waterways in the region are still busy and the natural hazards to navigation have not diminished.  180 years later the light continues to provide an essential service to the marine community in the area.

The rocky outcropping on which the station is set becomes an island at high tide.  The station is accessible by foot at low tide.

The light tower is a white wood, shingle-clad, tapered octagonal structure about 51" in height .  The original lantern was replaced by the present cast iron model in 1887.  The red cross has been on the tower at least since Confederation to distinguish the tower from windrows of snow in late winter and early spring.  Photos of the station show that it has remained fundamentally unchanged since at least 1902.

The Head Harbour Light is now fully automated and no keeper is in residence.