Discover Point Abino Light Tower

The Point Abino Light Tower stands on the rugged northern edge of Lake Erie, located at the southern tip of Ontario’s Point Abino peninsula, just west of Crystal Beach. Designed in the Greek Revival style, this white square lighthouse, highlighted with red details, is connected to a fog alarm building. Nearby, to the north, sits the former lighthouse keeper’s residence along the shoreline.

Although a lighthouse was proposed for the location as early as 1855 by a U.S. lighthouse inspector, the area remained marked only by buoys for decades. It wasn’t until 1912 that the Buffalo Lightship, a whaleback vessel, was stationed in the vicinity to guide ships. However, the lightship tragically sank during the infamous Great Lakes Storm of 1913. In response to growing maritime activity—particularly following the opening of the Welland Canal—the Canadian government approved the construction of a permanent lighthouse and foghorn in 1917.

As early as 1855, Point Abino was identified as a key location for a lighthouse. In a letter dated September 29 of that year, U.S. lighthouse engineer J.C. Woodruff emphasized the need for a lighthouse equipped with a foghorn at the site, suggesting it could prevent loss of life and property due to the heavy commercial traffic along Lake Erie’s northern Canadian shoreline. Woodruff identified three priority sites in Canada: Long Point, which already had a lighthouse; Point Pelee, where construction had begun; and Point Abino, which remained unmarked at the time.

Point Abino’s strategic importance stemmed from its proximity—about 10 miles (16 km)—to Buffalo, New York. The waters near the point were especially hazardous due to unpredictable fog, snowstorms, high winds, and waves, making navigation into Buffalo Harbor treacherous. Calls for a lighthouse became more urgent toward the end of the 19th century. A December 1898 article in The Buffalo Courier quoted a ship captain pleading for a light and foghorn at Point Abino, saying the lack of navigational aids made it safer to ride out storms at sea than to risk entry into the harbor during poor weather.

Although a request for a lightship was submitted in 1907, U.S. Congress did not allocate funding. Until 1912, the dangerous shoals near Point Abino were only marked with buoys. That year, a lightship—the Buffalo Lightship—was stationed at the site, but it tragically sank during the Great Lakes Storm of November 1913, resulting in the loss of the entire crew.

Historically, the Point Abino peninsula had early human activity, including a Jesuit missionary named Claude Aveneau, who once lived there in a log cabin atop a sand dune. By the late 1800s, the area had evolved into a small industrial zone with a quarry, sawmill, lime kiln, and even a shortline railway. Eventually, the name “Point Abino” emerged, believed to be a mispronunciation of Aveneau’s name.

In 1892, Buffalo developer Isaac Holloway purchased the land and divided it into about fifty lots, which were sold to businessmen—many from New York and Ohio—who built summer homes in the forested area. This transformed the peninsula into a seasonal retreat for wealthy industrialists.

The Canadian Department of Marine and Fisheries eventually responded to increasing shipping demands in the eastern part of Lake Erie by commissioning William P. Anderson to design a lighthouse. Construction began in 1917. A notice in the Canada Gazette on September 15, 1917, announced the lighthouse was nearing completion and scheduled to open in early October.

At the time, the peninsula’s private landowners had formed the Point Abino Association and made arrangements with the government to limit access to the lighthouse from the lake. As a result, the structure was built on a rocky outcrop at the very tip of the point. Lighthouse keepers were forced to wade through shallow water to reach it. Even during its construction, access via the peninsula’s private roads was off-limits, requiring materials to be delivered along the less restricted western shoreline.

The Point Abino Light Tower was constructed in the Greek Revival architectural style using poured concrete. This five-storey, white, tapering square tower features red accents and rises from one end of a single-storey rectangular fog alarm building, both structures forming a unified design. A concrete deck extends from the tower and connects to a walkway that leads inland to the lighthouse keeper’s house, which was completed in 1921.

According to the official specifications published in the Canada Gazette in 1917, the lighthouse was to be positioned approximately 225 feet (69 meters) from the tree-lined shoreline, built on an 8-foot (2.4-meter) reinforced concrete base. The tower reaches a total height of 87 feet (27 meters) above the lake surface and was originally designed to emit light with an intensity of 60,000 candela, making it visible from as far as 15 miles (24 kilometers) across Lake Erie. The lantern at the top, painted red, housed a dodecagonal room that still contains its original third-order Fresnel lens. This lens was lit using liquefied petroleum gas via an incandescent mantle.

The light’s flashing sequence was described as “Fl(3) W 12s 27m 15M,” which translates to a group of three white flashes within a 12-second cycle. The pattern included a two-second gap between the first two flashes, followed by an eight-second pause after the third flash.

The fog signal system consisted of a diaphone horn, mounted on the southern face of the building 33 feet (10 meters) above water level and directed at a bearing of 165°30′ (or S 8° E). Powered by compressed air, the horn emitted three two-second blasts each minute, with three-second pauses between them and a 48-second silence before the cycle restarted.

The site, located at the southern terminus of Abino Road, is gated. Its architectural style was intentionally made to harmonize with the nearby summer homes, making it one of the most distinctively styled lighthouses in Ontario. The keeper’s residence, situated about 300 feet (91 meters) inland, was constructed in the Arts and Crafts tradition. Made from wood and rough-cast material, the house was painted grey with a red roof and sat nestled in the trees on the bluff overlooking the lake.

The lighthouse operated with on-site staff for 72 years. Four keepers served during that period: Patrick Augustine (1918–1953), Wesley Earl Thomas (1953–1960), Milton Shaw (briefly in 1960), and Lewis W. Anderson (1960–1989). In 1988, it became the final lighthouse in Ontario to be automated, and it was officially decommissioned in 1995.

On April 30, 2003, the Town of Fort Erie acquired the Point Abino Light Tower and surrounding property from Public Works Canada. The purchase included the lighthouse tower itself, the connected fog alarm building, and the surrounding deck.

Prior to the transfer, the site received national recognition. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada on July 15, 1998, and later added to the Canadian Register of Historic Places on April 22, 2009.

In 2011, a major restoration project was launched to preserve and rehabilitate the structure. The total cost of the work reached $1.4 million, funded by a combination of sources. The National Historic Sites Cost-Sharing Program contributed $425,000, while additional funding came from the sale of the former keeper’s residence and support from the Town of Fort Erie. Restoration efforts included stabilizing and recasting the concrete base, reconstructing the balcony, installing new doors and windows, repainting the entire structure, and highlighting the entrance in red. Hazardous materials such as lead-based paint were removed, a corrosion-control system was put in place, and waterproof coatings were applied. The lantern structure at the top of the tower was also carefully restored to match its original design and materials.

On June 8, 2012, a commemorative plaque was unveiled in a ceremony attended by Member of Parliament Rob Nicholson, local officials, and members of the Point Abino Lighthouse Preservation Society.

Public access to the site is limited and carefully managed. Visitors can reach the lighthouse by foot or bicycle during designated times, or via a shuttle run by the Preservation Society, a volunteer organization dedicated to maintaining the site. The Town of Fort Erie pays the Point Abino Association $4,000 annually for the right to use the private road for these tours. Access is restricted to two tours per month, each limited to 25 participants, over a four-month season—allowing a maximum of 400 visitors per year. General public access and bus tours are no longer offered. The surrounding land is privately owned, making public approaches difficult and tightly restricted.