Gibraltar Point Lighthouse (2) Commemorative Plaque, 2008
| File information | Options |
Original JPG File3900 × 2850 pixels (11.12 MP) 33 cm × 24.1 cm @ 300 PPI 2.1 MB |
Restricted |
Resource ID
7329
Access
Restricted
Address
Lakeshore Ave, Toronto, ON M5J 2W2
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2008
Historical Themes
Architectural Heritage, Parks and Natural Heritage, Toronto Island, Transportation History
Program Category
Historical Plaques
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Time Period
1794-1834
Caption
Gibraltar Point Lighthouse (2) Commemorative Plaque, 2008
Description
The Gibraltar Point Lighthouse was once accompanied by the whitewashed clapboard homes of the lighthouse keepers, the first civilian residents on the island. The third and fourth keepers, James Durnan and his son George, maintained the wick lamps and the lighthouse from 1832 to 1905. After 1878 George also rewound - every 48 hours - the new mechanism which revolved the light. Over time, the keepers and their families formed the nucleus of a growing island community. At the end of the 1957 shipping season, the light of the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse was extinguished for the last time by Dedie Dodds, the last of the keepers. After nearly 150 years of service, the stone lighthouse was replaced by the federal Department of Transport with a fully automated, modern skeletal tower. The ownership of the old lighthouse was transferred to Metropolitan Toronto Parks Department in 1958. The Gibraltar Point Lighthouse has since been restored, the remaining homes of the lighthouse keepers demolished, and the surrounding land integrated into Toronto Island Park.
Marker lat / long: 43.613263, -79.384895 (WGS84)