No safe harbours for steamboats or sailing vessels could be found along an isolated 70-mile stretch of eastern Lake Ontario, dominated by the irregular-shaped Prince Edward County peninsula. Frequent storms, rocky reefs and sandy shoals were among the many dangers facing 19th Century mariners. So many shipwrecks mark one narrow and shallow underwater ridge in the region that it became known as "the graveyard of Lake Ontario."
It was on these shores, from Presqu'ile Bay to Kingston harbour and along the Bay of Quinte, that a remarkable network of forty-five lighthouses and light towers was built between 1828 and 1914.
For Want of a Lighthouse guides the reader from a broad overview of the social and technological changes which marked the era, to a close examination of the people and politics involved in the construction of these essential aids to navigation. Through the use of extensive archival material and more than 100 maps and photographs, Marc Seguin documents the vital role these lighthouses played in the building of a nation.
There is now a race against time to save the few original towers that are still standing. All profits from the sale of this book will be used to help preserve these remaining lighthouses.
Hardcover, 550 pages, 130 maps, photographs and illustrations, endnotes, bibliography, index.
About the Author :
Marc Seguin brings his lifelong interest in history together with a passion for Canada's built heritage in this comprehensive account of the building of the early lighthouses of eastern Lake Ontario. His degree in History form the University of Western Ontario and his years working at historic sites have been assets in Marc's involvement with local heritage groups and the founding of the lighthouse preservation organization "Save Our Lighthouses". Marc lives on the shores of Wellers Bay in Prince Edward County, Ontario, with his wife and two sons.
Review :
Independent Book Reviewers -
It is a handsome book, neatly and carefully laid out, obviously by someone who really cares about what he is writing. It is quite seductive. The virtue of the book is in its details. I find myself picking it up now and then because some of the stories are so human, especially about those involving the roles of lighthouse keepers.
At the same time, the book shows the value of government when it is sensitive to both the needs of the people and industry.
Marc's love of the subject is clearly felt by me and I begin to marvel at his determination to recognize the people who made the lighthouses --- beacons of safety and that helped develop commerce on Lake Ontario.
Thank God for people like Marc, who make us more sensitive to the efforts of those toiling at work which we do not fully recognize as important and that much, much more goes into "work" than work.
Ontario Sailor -
Graduating with a degree in history from the University of Western Ontario, author Marc Seguin took an interest in lighthouses in eastern Lake Ontario, near his home along the shores of Wellers Bay in Prince Edward County, where he lives with his wife and two sons. He quickly turned his attention to preservation when he discovered the condition of these important historical and navigational structures and a federal government program of declaring many of Canada's lighthouses surplus and abandoning regular upkeep and maintenance. He is the founder of the lighthouse preservation group called Save Our Lighthouses and says many of these lighthouses, built between 1828 and 1914, now sadly face neglect and may be left to rot and disappear.
The book details the 45 lighthouses and light towers built during this era along the Canadian shores of Lake Ontario - one of the largest concentrations of lighthouses in the world - although only seven of the structures remain. Sail through Ontario's maritime history with Seguin, who shares his research along with old photographs, charts and graphics.
