Jerome Point Lighthouse

Jerome Point Lighthouse stands near the entrance to St. Peter's Canal on Cape Breton Island, overlooking St. Peter's Bay in Richmond County along the Fleur-de-lis Trail. This strategic pinch point at the canal's southern approach has carried navigational aids since the 19th century, guiding vessels into one of the few passages between the Atlantic and the Bras d'Or Lakes.

The site actually has two chapters. The first Jerome Point light, lit in 1883, was a tapered square wooden tower with a keeper's dwelling attached, displaying a fixed red light from 36 feet and 54 feet above the water; it was fitted with a 7th order dioptric lens in 1922 and operated a fog signal that answered passing vessels. That tower no longer stands.

The current light dates to 1956, a tapered square wooden tower painted white with a red lantern, and it was automated by 1960. Because the canal is still an active small-craft route, the Jerome Point station remains operational and is one of the easier lighthouses in this stretch to view, reachable by car rather than by boat.