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Pointe-au-Père is near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River and about 160 miles northeast of Quebec City, Canada. For many years, river pilots helped incoming vessels to steer safely toward Quebec City. The Montreal Ocean Steamship Company established the first lighthouse and foghorn on Pointe-au-Père in 1859. The government of Canada purchased the lighthouse two years later. After the original lighthouse was destroyed by fire, a new one was built in 1867. The first and second lighthouses were both wooden dwellings with lanterns on their roofs.

Work on the extant lighthouse at Pointe-au-Père began in 1909. The octagonal tower, 92 feet tall, is made of steel-reinforced concrete. With its buttresses, the design was unusual for Canada. Today, the Pointe-au-Père Lighthouse National Historic Site offers climbs to the top of the tower and exhibits in the former keeper’s house.

Cindy Larouche is the manager of the Pointe-au-Père National Historic Site, and she also manages the Battle of the Restigouche National Historic Site. 

Here is a transcript of the interview:

JEREMY D’ENTREMONT

I’m speaking today with Cindy Larouche, who is the manager of the Pointe-au-Père National Historic Site in Quebec, Canada. We’ve covered lighthouses in Nova Scotia and British Columbia before on this podcast. This is