Port Burwell Marine Museum and Historic Lighthouse
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| Port Burwell Marine Museum and Historic Lighthouse | |
|---|---|
| Location: | Port Burwell, Ontario, Canada |
| Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS) |
Coordinates: |
| Year first constructed: | 1840 |
| Deactivated: | 1963 |
| Tower shape: | octagonal |
| Height: | 13.7 metres (45 ft)[1] |
| Elevation: | 29.3 metres (96 ft)[1] |
| Original lens: | third order Fresnel lens[2] |
| Range: | 19 kilometres (12 mi)[1] |
| ARLHS number: | CAN-405 |
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.
The lighthouse, completed in 1840 and renovated in the 1980s[3], remains as 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 1800s.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Port Burwell Lighthouse historical paque placed by Ontario Heritage Foundation; text at Historical Plaques of Elgin County
- ^ Lighthouses at Lighthouse Depot : Port Burwell Light
- ^ Sutherland, Alexander and family
