Point Clark Lighthouse

The Point Clark Lighthouse is a National Historic Site and was one of the first ‘imperial towers’ to flash its light. Six of these majestic towers were built by John Brown on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay in the 1850s. Built of limestone from nearby Inverhuron, the Point Clark Lighthouse stands 26.5 metres (80 feet) high, featuring 114 steps to get to the top. The stone tower is topped by a 12-sided lantern framed in cast iron, with a domed roof. A bronze lion head at each angle of the eaves directs rainwater away from the tower. The light stands 87 feet from the base of the tower.

The Lighthouse was acquired by Parks Canada in 1967 to commemorate the vital role of lighthouses in navigation on the Great Lakes. The lightkeeper’s dwelling, built at the same time as the Lighthouse, is now operated as a museum by the Township of Huron-Kinloss. In 2009, The Point Clark Lighthouse was honoured to be one of six lighthouses chosen from across Canada to decorate a postage stamp.

In 2010 the lighthouse was closed for restoration due to excessive spalling (pieces of stones falling off the Tower). Parks Canada engineers completed an assessment and indicated that the tower whitewash should be removed, stones replaced, and mortar re-pointed. When work began in 2011, the damage to the stones was far worse than originally anticipated. In 2012, Parks Canada completed an in-depth analysis and assessed each stone and mortar joint and mapped each one as well. The result of the assessment was that over four hundred stones were replaced (over 1400 stones in the tower). The project was completed in June of 2015. See our video about the restoration and photo gallery below!

Restoration Video

Photo Gallery

The Point Clark Lighthouse and Museum will re-open on June 30, 2023. Check back for more updates.

In the meantime, please enjoy a virtual tour of the Point Clark Lighthouse! Available in English and French.