Opening up to the public
Seacow Head Lighthouse celebrates 160th anniversary
FERNWOOD, P.E.I. – Dylan Crant has long been intrigued by the Seacow Head Lighthouse, describing the Fernwood site as his favourite Island swimming spot.
In the year since the Newfoundland man moved to P.E.I., he and his dog, Love, have become frequent visitors to the site, looking from the outside at the lighthouse, four storeys and 18.3 metres high, with a view of the nearby Confederation Bridge.
This month, Crant and Love were finally able to enter the 160-year-old structure.
“She looked out the window, she was up there, we took some pictures of her,” said Crant. “It was awesome.”
LIGHTHOUSE COMMITTEE
In 2010, a committee of Islanders formed Friends of Seacow Head Lighthouse Inc.
With the phrase “keeping the light on” serving as its mission, the group aspired to preserve the lighthouse and welcome people inside that had previously been closed to the public.
At the time, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans owned the lighthouse. Over the next few years, it was in charge of renovations before transferring responsibility over to the local organization in September 2022.
The committee then spent almost two years preparing for its opening day – July 1 — with the grand opening 10 days later, which Crant was eager to attend.
“This is one of my favourite spots in P.E.I.,” he said. “We see all the renovations, and all the hard work everybody’s doing, and we appreciate it.”
PRESERVING HISTORY
The day the lighthouse opened its doors was a day Jim Macfarlane, who sits on the Friends of Seacow Head Lighthouse Inc.’s board of directors, had looked forward to for 14 years.
“That was the goal, to preserve and protect for future generations,” said Macfarlane.
“We’re not done yet, we still have things to do, but we reached this point, because we wanted to get going. People are coming from all over the world.”
Between its construction in 1864 and its automation in 1959, the lighthouse had eight keepers – one of whom, Malcolm Macfarlane, was Macfarlane’s ancestor. Naturally, he was eager to follow in his family’s historical footsteps and get involved with preserving the site.
“I grew up just up the road from here,” said Macfarlane. “My great-grandfather was the first keeper. And his brother was one of the builders. But it’s just been a beacon in my life, growing up. It’s always been here.”
In addition to opening the lighthouse, the organization had also built a small cafe on the site, which currently serves coffee and ice cream.
PUBLIC RECEPTION
Since opening, Macfarlane said the lighthouse has garnered a ton of interest. Doors had been open a week before the official celebration, and he estimated around 100 people stopped in every day – and not just from P.E.I.
“There was a couple from England last week,” he said. “I was talking to a family from Denver, Colorado, Texas, Florida … All over. Even Canada.” Macfarlane laughed.
The Seacow Head Lighthouse, near Borden-carleton, is open to the public this summer from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“We may expand the hours as we get into the summer and we get our feet wet here,” said Macfarlane. “People come down just to see the sunset.”