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This community stories project from the Cape Bonavista Lighthouse gives a general introduction into the life of a lighthouse, circa 1870, in Newfoundland. It describes the importance the lightstation had to the people of the area, and indeed the country, as it was one of the first major constructions of a young colony that was barely a decade old in 1843.
The lightstation, as an industrial site, was a busy one, having an impact upon local and international sea commerce as well, but this was no ordinary job. The lightstation, for mariners, was more than a workplace; it was a real lifeline, glowing a friendly hello in calm weather, and giving a lifesaving warning in bad weather. It was truly a guiding light. In a time when industrialization was homogenizing the labour force, the lightkeepers and their families harkened back to a time of task-oriented work, with more cross-gender cooperation in labour than would be found in most nations of the late 19th century. As a place of family residence, as most lightstations in Newfoundland were family operated, it strengthened family ties and taught a wide variety of skills to all family members. There were few real divisions of labour in a Newfoundland lightkeeping family.
The Cape Bonavista Lighthouse, which began operation in 1843, worked tirelessly until 1962, capping nearly 120 years of service. It is also no ordinary lighthouse: from its unique shape to its amazing tower, it constantly delights young and old alike with its very unusual tower friezes. The lighthouse is now a provincial museum, with guided tours by knowledgeable interpreters in period costumes. All artifacts in the house are from the 1870 era, and have been recruited from the local area, some from the home itself. They thus provide a very real image of what life was like for a working lighthouse family of the mid 1800s in Newfoundland.
