Un feu dans la nuit / A Light in the Night

Matane's first lighthouse was part of a network of lighthouses built along the Gaspé Peninsula on the banks of the estuary and gulf of the St. Lawrence River. Its simple architecture and inexpensive wooden structure allowed many such lighthouses to be erected to improve navigation in the area. Commissioned on October 1, 1873, it stood near the site of the current lighthouse, about 1.4 kilometres west of the Matane River, but erosion forced it to be moved to the present site. From its base to the weathervane it rose 65 feet above the water at high tide, its light could be seen for 16 kilometres in clear weather, and a vertical and horizontal black stripe on the sea-facing side made it a daytime landmark. A new concrete lighthouse was then prepared with a lantern and lighting system; it stood 48 feet from base to beacon, and the lighthouse keeper's lodge visible there was built in 1882. The second lighthouse operated from November 10, 1907, until 1951, stood 67 feet from base to weathervane, and had 56 steps. Its service ended in June 1951 after a green flashing light was installed on the west pier in the former harbour of Matane. Behind the lighthouse was a space more than 150 feet deep where the keeper could maintain a large vegetable garden and livestock. Erosion steadily reduced the distance between the lighthouse and the base of the cliff, from more than 100 feet in 1915 to under 20 feet in 2017, with July 1957 showing the site before riprap was added in the 1960s.

Quebec · Canada