Lark Islet, Îlet aux Alouettes, is located on the northern side of St. Lawrence River, just off the entrance to Saguenay River. The following description of a new lighthouse built on the islet to mark the entrance to Saguenay River appeared in the Annual Report of the Department of Marine for 1872:

A very useful minor light or beacon has been erected on Lark Islet, near the entrance of the Saguenay River, for the purpose of leading vessels into that river. There are two flat-wick lamps in it, with 16-inch reflectors. A bell is also attached to it, which is used in thick foggy weather. The light was exhibited for the first time on the 1st September last. The sum of $126.50 was paid on account of the erection of this light up to the 30th June last, but further payments have since been made, which will appear in the accounts of the Department for the current fiscal year. No permanent keeper has yet been appointed to take charge of this light.

Pierre Bouilliane was appointed keeper of Lark Islet Lighthouse on April 14, 1873 at an annual salary of $150. C.E. Forgues built the lighthouse, and he was paid an additional $472.70 in 1873 as part of the contract work. E. Chanteloup provided the illuminating apparatus at a cost of $200.50.

In 1874, the “old beacon” was taken down, and its lumber used to clapboard the keeper’s dwelling to make it more comfortable. A new tower was built that stood thirty-eight feet tall and tapered from fourteen feet at its base to twelve feet at the lantern room gallery. Also in 1874, the department provided Keeper Bouilliane a hand-operated foghorn that he was to sound to help mariners in the surrounding waters that were subject to much fog. Navigators appreciated the new fog alarm which could be heard much farther off than the bell formerly used.

In 1878, Keeper Bouilliane was forced to take up residence in the light tower after the attached dwelling burned that spring. A new dwelling was promptly built that same year. On August 15, 1881, a fog trumpet was established on the islet to better serve mariners during fogs and snowstorms. This new signal sounded a twenty-second blast each minute when needed. A coal shed was built for the foghorn in 1885, and in 1889, a duplicate foghorn was added in case the original one became unserviceable.

In 1890, the foghorn on Lark Islet was declared to be “of no use whatever for the general navigation of the St. Lawrence” and to have little use in leading vessels to the mouth of Saguenay River. The reason for this declaration was that dangerous Prince Shoal was situated four-and-a-half kilometres southeast of Lark Islet, making it impossible for vessels to run close to the foghorn. Despite this judgement, the fog alarm remained in operation, and in 1896, a boiler maker was sent from Quebec City to repair the horizontal boilers used to power the foghorn. An iron tank was also set up in 1896 to provide an additional water supply for the fog alarm.

The steam foghorn was discontinued in 1906, after Prince Shoal Lightship was anchored in the vicinity. Also that year, a new dwelling, which was framed together at the department workshops in Quebec City, was transported to the islet to replace the old keeper’s dwelling that had been condemned as unfit for habitation. The cost for the new dwelling was $1,946.

The 1891 Census lists Pierre Boulliane (Bouilliane) as a sixty-year-old lighthouse keeper. Pierre was listed in records as the keeper up through 1905. William Bouilliane was listed as keeper of Lark Islet Lighthouse from 1906 until the light was discontinued in 1909.

Keepers: Pierre Boulliane (1872 – 1905), William Bouilliane (1906 – 1909).

References

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

No light exists on the islet today, but lighted buoys are anchored nearby.

Find the closest hotels to Lark Islet (Îlet aux Alouettes) Lighthouse