Description of Historic Place

The Hendry Farm Lighthouse on the banks of Washademoak Lake at Lower Cambridge is a typical inland waterways lighthouse. Currently, it and its grounds are owned and maintained by the Village of Cambridge-Narrows as a historic structure relevant to the navigational history of the lake.

Heritage Value

The Hendry Farm Lighthouse is designated a Local Historic Place for its association with the inland navigational history of Cambridge-Narrows and for being a good example of an inland lighthouse.

The lighthouse was built in 1869 and altered periodically as technical progress required. It was a very important navigational feature for boats entering or leaving Lake Washademoak. The channel at the entrance is narrow and this light was lined up with another on Musquash Island in the main river to expedite safe passage. For over seventy years after it was built, river steamers went up and down the lake as much as six times a week throughout the navigation season, while wood boats and other craft were even more plentiful. Consequently, the Hendry Farm Lighthouse is a very important structure in Queens County’s navigational history, making it worthy of preservation as a tourist attraction to show visitors “how it used to be”. There is a rich oral history attached to the lighthouse, to the Hendry family, and to other keepers of the light, stories that add to its charm and historic value.

The lighthouse is of wooden construction with white shingle siding and the enclosure for the light painted red. The door facing the lake leads to an internal staircase. There is a 1930’s concrete foundation replacing the original wooden sills. Windows on three sides made the light visible for quite a distance up and down the lake. The original light was a kerosene lantern lighted by hand at sunset, but in later times all these lights were electrical devices that were automated, an unpopular move because it deprived the keeper of a small emolument.

Source: Queens County Heritage Archives – Cambridge-Narrows Historic Places files

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Hendry Farm Lighthouse include:

Exterior
- height of approximately 7.5 metres;
- modern light fixture reflecting the progression of lighthouse technology;
- windows on three sides of the red belvedere;
- white shingle siding;
- inside stairway;
- good sightlines to Washademoak Lake.

Grounds
- small stone cairn with plaque commemorating the lighthouse and its keepers, including the Hendry Family and neighbours;
- proximity to Hendry Family cemetery.