Panmure Head Lighthouse (Panmure Island Lighthouse)

The Panmure Island Lighthouse, known officially as the Panmure Head Lighthouse, is the oldest wooden lighthouse in PEI.

Panmure Island Lighthouse is PEI's oldest wooden lighthouse. Built in 1853 by local craftsmen using shipbuilding techniques, this lighthouse is a lovely example of the heavy timbered, Pre-Confederation style lighthouse. Visitors are encouraged to climb the 4 levels, through the displays of lighthouse artifacts, into the tower for views of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, beautiful Panmure Island Beach and surrounding land. Check out our “virtual tour” located on the 2nd floor. Visit our gift shop on the first floor for a locally-made memento of your trip.

Georgetown, also known as Three Rivers, is located along the eastern shore of Prince Edward Island on a peninsula bounded by the Cardigan, Brudenell, and Montague rivers. Two small, offshore islands, Boughton Island to the north and Panmure Island to the south, define the entrance to Georgetown Harbour and provide some protection from the open waters of Northumberland Strait.
A petition by several inhabitants of King’s County was presented to the House of Assembly of Prince Edward Island in 1849 noting the large number of vessels that frequented Georgetown Harbour and the great risk and loss to such shipping caused by the absence of a lighthouse near Georgetown. This petition was referred to a special committee that acknowledged the usefulness of a lighthouse at Georgetown and proposed that Americans using the harbour be made to pay an annual fee per vessel to support the operation of the lighthouse. The committee recommended that a sum of £150 be granted for the construction of a lighthouse at Georgetown, but no action was taken on this recommendation.

Panmure Head Lighthouse with original dwelling
Photograph courtesy Canadian Coast Guard
After a similar petition was presented to the House of Assembly the following two years, a special committee recommended that the Lieutenant Governor procure the requisite plans and estimates in 1851 “for the erecting of a lighthouse upon Boughton Point, or some other convenient site, near the entrance of the Harbor of Three Rivers.”
The Lieutenant Governor requested that Captain Henry W. Bayfield, who was surveying the Gulf of St. Lawrence, give his opinion on the best location for a lighthouse near Georgetown. Captain Bayfield’s response included the following: “A light properly placed on Panmure Point, the north east extremity of Panmure Island, would answer the double purpose of leading into the Harbour of Georgetown, and of guiding vessels clear of the dangerous Bear Reef; whilst its disappearance behind Boughton Island would, in like manner, be a guide to vessels all along the coast, far up towards the East Point; it would thus be far more useful as a Coast Light than it would be if placed on Boughton Island.”

A detailed specification for the construction of a lighthouse and keeper’s dwelling to be built with “sound wood and island stone” was also prepared in 1851, and the cost of the project was estimated to be approximately £620. Work on Panmure Head Lighthouse commenced in 1853 with a total of £647 being spent that year. This amount included £20 paid to Archibald MacDonald for a one-acre site on the northeast point of the island and a right-of-way to the property, and £5 paid to William MacDonald for clearing the land.

Peter Stewart was paid £384 for constructing the lighthouse, while £80 was paid to Thomas Robinson and £104 was paid to Benjamin Williams for the lantern. A contract was awarded later that year to Henry Williams to finish the lighthouse.

William MacDonald was appointed the first keeper of Panmure Head Lighthouse at an annual salary of £50. He started receiving his pay on November 20, 1853, so the lighthouse was likely put into operation around the end of that year.

Panmure Island Lighthouse is 17.8 metres (58.4 feet) tall from its base to vane and was the second formal lighthouse built on Prince Edward Island. As the first lighthouse at Point Prim was built of brick, Panmure Head has the distinction of being the island’s first wooden lighthouse. The octagonal tower on Panmure Island is supported by a stone foundation and was built with heavy timbers using techniques employed by the local shipbuilding industry such as the use of wooden pegs or trunnels. The tower, which contains four stories connected by a wooden staircase, has many decorative features, like a corbelled cornice and pedimented windows and door, which make it a favorite subject for photographers.

Panmure Head Lighthouse and Fog Alarm Building
Photograph courtesy Canadian Coast Guard
Several repairs to the lighthouse were made over the years, and various outbuildings were added to the station. In 1858, James Millner was paid £70 for putting a new copper roof on the tower. Thomas Alley, Superintendent of Public Works for Prince Edward Island, issued a report on the state of the Panmure Island Lighthouse in 1861 in which he noted a few deficiencies in the tower. First, the windows leaked since they were not properly secured with zinc, and second, a considerable quantity of snow drifted into the structure, as the exterior walls were not properly papered before the outside finish was put in place. The superintendent recommended that a fence be constructed to keep the pigs from the neighboring farm from rooting away the foundations of the station’s buildings and that the keeper be supplied a boat so he could reach Georgetown in the event of an emergency without having to take a circuitous route.
In 1885 a new lantern was placed atop the Panmure Head Lighthouse and a fourth-order lens was substituted for the system of reflectors formerly used. The light remained fixed white, but the improved illuminating apparatus now made it appear with equal intensity from all points of approach. During the night of September 6, 1887, the lamp inside the lens exploded severely damaging the lens along with the plate glass in the lantern room. Fortunately the lamp was extinguished as a result of the explosion; otherwise, the entire tower likely would have burned to the ground. A portable lamp was displayed in the damaged apparatus until a new lens was supplied.