Goderich in Huron County, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

The Original Lighthouse

— Goderich Marine Heritage Walkway —

Photographed by Tim Boyd, August 22, 2025

1. The Original Lighthouse Marker

Inscription. In this immediate area was located the first lighthouse to be built as a navigational aid for the Port of Goderich. It was likely the inner light tower for a range light to show direction for the harbour entrance. It was thought to be a log structure using a kerosene lantern of some sort to provide the 'beacon of light’. While this structure would have provided some nominal guidance for ships approaching the Goderich harbour from the north and the west, it failed to show an arc to the extremities along the lakeshore to the south. It was therefore necessary to relocate the tower to its present position at the edge of the bluff. The 'reconstruction' took place in the late 1840s.

This site, opposite the original Bank of Upper Canada, also provided an area for a shaded pedestrian shelter at the top of a stair way that descended to the foot of the hill. Photographs showing such structures have survived, but no detail is yet available about the first wooden lighthouse near this location. The illustration is from an 1865 engraving that shows the original range light towers as well as the new lighthouse at the bluff edge.

Topics and series.

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This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Man-Made Features • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Lighthouses series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1865.

Location. 43° 44.564′ N, 81° 43.281′ W. Marker is in Goderich, Ontario, in Huron County. It is at the intersection of Cobourg Street and Wellesley Street, on the right when traveling west on Cobourg Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 215 Cobourg Street, Goderich ON N7A N7A, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Huron-Perth-Waterloo-Wellington Area

and in Southwestern Ontario.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Salt Brine Plants (within shouting distance of this marker); The Great Storm of 1913

Photographed by Tim Boyd, August 22, 2025

2. The Original Lighthouse Marker

(about 120 meters away, measured in a direct line); Tiger Dunlop’s Castle (about 120 meters away); The Founding of Goderich / La Fondation de Goderich (about 150 meters away); Thomas Mercer Jones, 1795-1868 (about 150 meters away); Canada Company Headquarters (about 150 meters away); Tornado 2011 (about 180 meters away); The Canadian Pacific Railway Station (about 180 meters away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Goderich.

Credits. This page was last revised on August 27, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 25, 2025, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 84 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 25, 2025, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.