Port Burwell Lighthouse

History

Port Burwell sits where Big Otter Creek enters Lake Erie. In 1840 the harbour works passed from a private harbour company to the Province of Upper Canada, and a lighthouse was built that year to guide ships into the port, then busy shipping timber from the surrounding forests.^[2] It was one of a series of lights put up along the Canadian shore of the lake.^[2]

The tower is an octagonal, tapered wooden structure about 13.7 metres tall, painted white with a red lantern.^[2] The Canadian Register ranks it first in age among the wooden lighthouses on Canada's Lake Erie shore, and among the oldest wooden lighthouses still standing anywhere in Canada.^[2] Its equipment shows how lighthouse technology changed: whale oil and reflectors at first, then coal oil, a Fresnel lens around the turn of the century, and finally electricity.^[2] For more than a hundred years, apart from a three-year gap, members of the Sutherland family kept the light, from 1852 until it was taken out of service in 1962.^[2]

The federal government transferred the tower to the village in 1965, and the village recognised it as a heritage building in 1985.^[2] In 1986 Mennonite craftspeople restored it using traditional methods, and it was relit as a landmark in 1987.^[3] The Port Burwell Marine Museum across the street displays lenses and artifacts, including the third-order lens from the Long Point lighthouse.^[3,4]

Age has caught up with it. In January 2023 the tower was closed over fears of collapse, and emergency stabilisation followed.^[3] In August 2026 ownership passed to the Bayham Historical Society, which plans a full restoration.^[3] The museum notes that the lighthouse is not open to visitors for now.^[5]

How to see it

Grounds open You can walk to or around the lighthouse; the tower itself is closed.

Best public viewpoint

On the hill on Robinson Street in Port Burwell, across the street from the Port Burwell Marine Museum, overlooking the harbour at the mouth of Big Otter Creek.^[5]

Tower climbs

No public tower climbs have been offered, as far as our sources show.

Operator

Port Burwell Marine Museum and Historic Lighthouse

Last verified

Last verified 2026-10

Access details last verified 2026-10. Hours, tours and ownership change. Check the operator before you go. Pier and breakwater lights can be dangerous in wind and waves; obey posted closures and never enter private or Coast Guard property.

Questions people ask

Can you go inside the Port Burwell Lighthouse?

Not at present. The museum says the lighthouse is closed because of structural concerns, with stabilisation in place. The tower can be seen from Robinson Street, and the marine museum opposite opens in summer.

How old is the Port Burwell Lighthouse?

It was built in 1840. The Canadian Register calls it the oldest wooden lighthouse on Canada's Lake Erie shore and one of the oldest surviving wooden lighthouses in Canada.