2016 Pilot Project

The proposed Pilot Conservation Project is scheduled to hopefully start in April, 2017. This will entail erecting the scaffolding to the top of the lighthouse, (69 feet in height); removing the shingles and the wood girdle; and confirming earlier inspections of the overall structure itself, which would include some grouting of the walls, both from the inside and the outside. The grouting that will be added at this time would be continued with the final portion of Phase 3 restoration. The scaffolding will remain in place once erected. This pilot project is necessary from the standpoint of contractors tendering accurate quotes for the restoration (ie..so they don’t build in large contingency costs for the unknowns as there should be none after we do this initial evaluations). This project is budgeted at $140,000.00, so we need to raise some serious money before next April. Based on our present bank balance, and the great support we are receiving, we are all confident we can raise this money.

View the 2016 Pilot Project Strategy Report here

December, 2015

There was a further meeting of Ontario Parks management personnel to discuss the report. We can tell you that their engineer seems to agree with assessment and the recommendation of our group. Park Supt. Cunningham reports “we certainly will be moving forward with developing a Conservation Management Plan for the Lighthouse. This Plan will basically be used a guiding document for what we are going to do in the future” (with regards to the preservation and actual repairs of the lighthouse).

April, 2015

Presqu’ile Point Lighthouse (PPL):
Restoration Engineering Recommendations from Presqu’ile Point Lighthouse Preservation Society Presentation to Ontario Parks

January, 2015

The Phase I “Presqu’ile Point Lighthouse: Restoration Engineering Study” report is now available. Follow the link to see the full report (44 pages, 20MB PDF).

July 11, 2014

It is with great excitement that we announce we have signed a contract with the “Andre Scheinman Heritage Preservation Consultant” firm from Kingston to begin Phase I of our 3-Phase program to restore our Presqu’ile Point Lighthouse.

Phase I is the Engineering Study to determine structural strength of the structure and provide options to restore the lighthouse.

Phase II will be preparation of the engineering drawing and specifications for the restoration project.

And, of course, Phase III will be the actual restoration itself.

Construction History

Our light house was built in 1840. It was a period when lighthouses were being built all around the great lakes. Shipping was the major form of transport and lighthouses were the only option as aids to navigation. In a time of GPS and cell phones it is difficult for us to imagine the problems encountered by those early settlers of Canada. There were very few steam engines; the first steam boat that used a propeller was in built 1842. There were steam paddle boats before that but they were mostly river boats more applicable to calm waters.

It helps to know something about navigation under sail. The prevailing wind is west which means that travelling from Toronto to Kingston was very easy whereas going the other way was a difficult trip. The only way to do it was to tack completely across the lake, change tack at the American shore and then change again as the Canadian shore was approached. Ships could take two or three days tacking back and forth across the lake to make westward progress. Every approach to either shore was perilous especially at night or in bad weather and the lighthouse was their only way of knowing where they were!

Prince Edward County was particularly bad since tracking past Point Petre puts a sailing ship on a lee shore. The Presqu’ile light was a safe harbour and an important positional point when tacking westward to Hamilton and Toronto from Kingston and Montreal.

Lighthouses were built mostly of stone but there were wooden ones as well. It was decided to build the Prequ’ile lighthouse out of stone. Local limestone was used even though there were recommendations to use Kingston limestone. There is a difference of opinion about the quality of local limestone. There are many other local buildings made of local stone and they are just fine. It will be one of the revelations of the assessment whether the stone deteriorated or not. We don’t know the condition of the stone yet, but that is a part of the story that will be explained.

In those days the only mortar available was lime which was almost always made on site. Lime mortar is made by roasting limestone to make quick lime and then adding water, or slaking it, to make slaked lime. This is mixed with sand and that is your mortar. The quality of the mortar is very variable due to roasting temperatures, time of roasting and storage of the mortar. The type of sand is a factor of quality too and crushed rock sand was recommended but was not used. In 1840, the availability of crushed rock sand at Presqu’isle probably made it very expensive or even unavailable. Crushed rock sand has sharp, pointy grains which make it very good for use in mortar but beach sand has round grains which are not so good but beach sand was widely available.

Within only two years of finishing the lighthouse it was leaking water and there is much discussion as to why. Local legend has it that the stone was inferior but many of us suspect that the real problem was the mortar and possibly the dressing and fitting of the stone. Lime mortar is best when used in small quantities, which requires the stones to be dressed square. A combination of poorly dressed and fitted stones and possibly poor quality mortar could be a more realistic reason for deterioration of the condition of the lighthouse.

The lighthouse is constructed with an inner wall and an outer wall with a rubble filled cavity between. Ideally the rubble would have been semi-fitted with mortar but we have no idea if mortar was used. One of the problems with lime mortar is that it is not waterproof, and over years, very slowly, it can wash out. We believe that the mortar began to wash out almost as soon as the lighthouse was built. It is an interesting historical note that the Romans had developed waterproof mortar but the knowledge had been lost and was not re-discovered till 1850 in England and was called Portland cement which is still in extensive use today.

As the years went by more and more mortar was washed out of the joins between the limestone blocks; and so cavities were forming inside the walls. These cavities filled with water and the action of frost started to further deteriorate the structure. By 1894, the condition of the lighthouse was considered critical and it was decided to surround the lighthouse top to bottom with very substantial timbers and iron hoops. These timbers and hoops would form a crib and hold the stone in place but would also provide a base for the addition of cedar shingles to keep out the rain. We have no record of who designed this but it worked very well and after 120+ years is still doing a fine job!

After 175 years; the lighthouse needs a little help. Luckily for the lighthouse, it has survived long enough to take advantage of some very modern methods and materials that can hopefully restore it to its’ original 1840 or 1894 condition. Options include the use of some very good grouts that can be pumped into the voids and even stainless steel ties that can be used to invisibly hold the stones together. Many old limestone buildings have been restored to their original splendor and it is our intention to make our lighthouse one of them.