Cape Ray Lighthouse
Cape Ray was part of the "French Shore" where Newfoundland's rights were limited until the British-French Treaty of 1904. Until the 1870's there were no lights on this part of the shore. In 1870, the Privy Council of Canada made a decision to build a lighthouse in Cape Ray to protect vessels entering and clearing the Gulf of St. Lawrence by the northern route. On July 13, 1871, the Cape Ray lighthouse was lit for the first time. It was a white hexagonal wooden tower with a red circular metal lantern. The light was a revolving cataptric lens that contained twelve kerosene lamps with twenty-inch reflectors. It was built on the west side of the Cape, 198 meters from shore. The light was a white light and was visible for seventeen miles. A white two story Victorian style house and outbuildings with red roofs were located nearby. A steam powered foghorn was installed at the site in 1872.
In 1885 the lighthouse was struck by lightening and burnt to the ground. Four months later another wooden lighthouse was constructed. In 1958, this one was also destroyed by fire. The present day concrete tower was built in 1959 and an electric beacon (1000W) was installed for the light. At this time three new houses were built and the two story was torn down. The present house is the last of those houses. In 1998 a red day mark was put on the tower. The Cape Ray lighthouse was automated in 1991.
Since 1993, the Cape Ray Lightkeeper's House Committee has operated the site as a local museum and craft store on a seasonal basis. The house holds artifacts from the nearby Paeoleskimo Dorset archaeological site, the lighthouse, and pictures of the site and keepers, and community memorabilia. The original shed is now a craft store. This summer, the Cape Ray Lightkeeper's House Committee will be assuming ownership of the lighthouse through the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canadian Coast Guard division, lighthouse divestiture program. Light keepers will be on site through the Light keeper transfer program.