1860: A Unique Lighthouse along Canada’s West Coast First Goes into Service

December 26, 1860

A lighthouse built on one of the islands of Race Rocks, which are located just off the southern point of Vancouver Island, was first illuminated. At the time of that lighthouse’s debut, Vancouver Island was a British Crown colony. This colony was merged with the Crown colony of mainland British Columbia in 1866. Five years, later, British Columbia became the sixth province of the Dominion of Canada.

Race Rocks Light was only the second permanent lighthouse to be constructed on Canada’s west coast. The first of those navigational aids to go into service was Fisgard Lighthouse, which is located at the entrance to Vancouver Island’s Esquimalt Harbor. This lighthouse was inaugurated on November 16, 1860.

Race Rocks Light has the added distinction of being the only lighthouse in that region of Canada to be built mostly of rock. Those taking part in the construction of Race Rocks Light included the crew of the British Royal Navy frigate HMS Topaze.

The first keeper at Race Rocks Light was George Nicholas Davies, who served in this role until 1866. Measuring 80 feet (24.4 meters) in height, this lighthouse has been automated since 1997. The final person to serve as the keeper of Red Rocks Light prior to its automation was Mike E. Slater; he had begun this tour of duty in 1989.  

Another claim to fame for Race Rocks Light is that it is one of 12 lighthouses that are part of the British Columbia Shore Station Oceanographic Program. This longtime program focuses on monitoring water temperatures and salinity measurements in the vicinity of those lighthouses on a daily basis.

Photo Credit: Gifet (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en)

For more information on Race Rocks Light, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_Rocks_Light