Lake Winnipegosis, Canada’s twelfth-largest lake, lies just west of Lake Winnipeg, which is Canada’s sixth largest lake. The lake gets its name from that of Lake Winnipeg with the addition a diminutive suffix. Winnipeg means ‘big muddy waters’ and Winnipegosis means ‘little muddy waters.’

One of the tributaries of Lake Winnipegosis is Mossey River, which flows into southern end of the lake from Dauphin Lake. The community of Winnipegosis is situated where Mossey River meets Lake Winnipegosis.

In 1914, a site was purchased at the mouth of Mossey River for lights on Lake Winnipegosis, and on March 25, 1915, contractor J. Neely arrived at the lake to begin work on the lights only to be greeted by a big snowstorm. J. Neely was contracted to build a range of pole lights along with a wooden lighthouse for $1,750.

The wooden lighthouse, an enclosed tower, square in plan with sloping sides and a square lantern room, was placed on the east side of the mouth of Mossey River and was equipped with a fifth-order lens that produced a fixed white light at a height of twenty-five feet above the water. The range lights were built on the west side of the entrance to the river and consisted of masts for displaying lights with white sheds at the base of the masts. The front light was red and was displayed at a height of seventeen feet while the rear light was white and displayed at a height of twenty-two feet. A locomotive headlight with a reflector lantern was used in each of the range lights. When mariners positioned their vessels so that they could see the range lights one above the other they knew they were in the dredged channel in Lake Winnipegosis that led to the mouth of Mossey River.

Thomas Toye was hired as the first keeper of the lights at an annual salary of around $330. Keeper Toye served until 1918, when W. Wright took charge of the lights. W. Wright looked after the lights through at least 1937, at which time his annual salary was $720.

In 2020, two sets of ranges marked the entrance to the river. A set of cylindrical masts were on the east side of the river mouth and displayed white lights to form Winnipegosis Outer Range, while a cylindrical mast and a square, skeletal tower were positioned on the west side of the river mouth and displayed red lights to form Winnipegosis Range.

Keepers: Thomas Toye (1915 – 1918), W. Wright (1918 – at least 1937).

References

1. Annual Report of the Department of Marine and Fisheries, various years.

The modern range lights can be seen at the mouth of Mossey River.

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