The 1917 edition of the St. Lawrence Pilot carried the following information for mariners sailing between Prince Edward Island and the coasts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

There are few places in which more care is required in navigation than in Northumberland Strait, which is 160 miles in length; and which, at Cape Tormentine, the narrowest part, is but 7 miles from shore to shore.

John Page, Chief Engineer of Public Works for the Dominion of Canada, visited Cape Tormentine during the summer of 1868 to select a site for a lighthouse to guide mariners through this treacherous section of Northumberland Strait. Three locations were considered: 1) Indian Point, the eastern extremity of Cape Tormentine, 2) Cape Jourimain, situated a few miles west of Cape Tormentine, and 3) a point between the first two options. Cape Jourimain was found to be the “most eligible position,” and a wooden lighthouse was constructed there in 1869.

Indian Point Rear Range Photograph from the Michel Forand collection.

Being the closest point to Prince Edward Island, Cape Tormentine has been home to many services designed to connect the island colony and later province to the mainland. Iceboat service commenced during the winter of 1827 to ferry passengers and mail to and from Cape Traverse on Prince Edward Island. The New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island Railway was completed in 1886 from the Sackville station of the Intercolonial Railway thirty-six miles north to Cape Tormentine. Working with the iceboats this new line helped provide a reliable winter mail route to Prince Edward Island.

Year-round steamer service to Prince Edward Island from Pictou, Nova Scotia was initiated by the Northern Light in 1876, but the vessel was often icebound for weeks at a time during the winter. The Stanley replaced the Northern Light in 1888, and after the Minto was added to the island service in 1897, the Stanley initiated winter service between Cape Tormentine and Summerside in 1902. Finally, in 1917, ferry terminals were completed at Cape Tormentine and Borden-Carleton on Prince Edward Island, and the railcar ferry Prince Edward Island began serving this short route. Though originally designed to carry only railcars, an automobile deck was later added to the Prince Edward Island, which remained in service until 1969. Besides this ferry, another ten vessels serviced this route through the years.

The Cape Tormentine Pier Range Lights were established in 1902 to guide the Stanley on its wintertime runs, and in 1917, a second set of range lights, known as the Cape Tormentine Entrance Range Lights, were constructed. These two sets of range lights worked together to guide vessels from Northumberland Strait to the ferry terminal at Cape Tormentine. Mariners would first use the Cape Tormentine Pier Range to steer toward the pierhead, and when this range intersected with the Cape Tormentine Entrance Range, they would follow the latter range to safely pass between the ferry pier and an offshore breakwater built to protect the ferry landing.

The front and back towers of the Cape Tormentine Entrance Range were both enclosed, square, pyramidal, wooden towers, topped by square wooden lanterns. The front tower was 7.9 metres (26 feet) tall, and the back tower, situated 303 metres (331 yards) from the front light, was 12.8 metres (42 feet) tall. Both towers were painted white.

In 1955, another set of range lights was built on Indian Point, just east of the ferry landing at Cape Tormentine. Dana Allen served as keeper of the Indian Point Range from 1955 until the lights were electrified in 1962.

After the completion of the Confederation Bridge in 1997, ferry service between Cape Tormentine and Prince Edward Island ceased. The Cape Tormentine Pier Range Lights were discontinued at that time, but the Cape Tormentine Entrance Range Lights and Indian Point Range Lights remained in service until the following year.

In 2022, the front range lighthouse was restored and plans were made to relocate it to a new foundation prepared at Cape Tormentine Beach Campground. A crane placed the lighthouse on a trailer that horses were going to pull to the new location during “A Lighthouse Walk” planned for June 11, but on the night of June 9, fire heavily damaged the lighthouse, forcing the walk to be canceled. The rest of the event was still held on June 11. The cause of the suspicious fire is not known.

Undaunted, Cape Tormentine Development Corporation established a gofundme drive to raise money to build a replica of the front range lighthouse. The drive raised $1,235 and work on the replica lighthouse began in September 2022.

The Indian Point Rear Range Lighthouse was also apparently lost in 2022. Work was done on the tower in December 2021, but by March 2022, the tower had disappeared from the area.

Keepers:

• Cape Tormentine Entrance: R. Silas Ross (1917 – 1921), J. Reid (1921 – at least 1923).
• Indian Point: Dana Allen (1955 – 1962).

References

1. Annual Report of the Department of Marine, various years.
2. Official Report of the Debates of the House of Commons of the Dominion of Canada, 1907-8.
3. Bridging the Strait, Copthorne Macdonald, 1997.

From Highway 16 traveling from Port Elgin towards Prince Edward Island, take the next-to-the-last exit before Confederation Bridge (Exit 47) and drive east on Route 955 towards Bayfield and Cape Tormentine. After roughly 4.8 km (3 miles), you will pass Cape Tormentine Campground at the intersection with Immigrant Road. From this point, continue east on Route 960 for 2.7 km (1.7 miles) and you will see an unpaved road (Vista Drive, though it might not be signed) on your left that leads to a collection of cottages near the shore. Indian Point Rear Range Lighthouse is visible down the next unpaved road just beyond Vista Drive.

The lighthouse is owned by the Canadian Coast Guard. Grounds/tower closed.

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