1882: A Lighthouse Goes into Service in Canada

June 1, 1882

Belyea’s Point Lighthouse went into service along the Saint John River in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Construction on this navigational aid in the vicinity of the community of Morrisdale had been initiated during the previous year. Spafford Barker Belyea was this lighthouse’s first keeper.

During the 1930s, Belyea’s Point Lighthouse was rebuilt and slightly relocated after it had been damaged by severe flooding in the area. The 36-foot (11-meter)-tall structure is owned and operated by the Canadian Coast Guard.

This lighthouse was actually named after two individuals: its original keeper; and Hendrick Belyea, one of the Loyalists (American colonists maintaining allegiance to the British Crown) who fled to Canada towards the end of the American Revolutionary War. Hendrick moved from his longtime home in New York to the present-day province of New Brunswick (at that time part of the British colony of Nova Scotia) in 1783.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

For more information on Belyea’s Point Lighthouse, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belyea%27s_Point_Light

Additional information on this lighthouse and others in the southern region of New Brunswick is available at http://www.ibiblio.org/lighthouse/nb.htm