Keeper's House

The Keeper's House is located along the shores of Lake Huron adjacent to a lighthouse at Point Clark Lighthouse National Historic Site of Canada. The dwelling is a simple three-bay, stone structure with a gable roof and projecting end chimneys. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

The Keeper's House is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value.

Historical Value

The Keeper's House is closely associated with the provision of navigational aid in the Great Lakes. The house was built with the lighthouse at Point Clark as part of a lighting campaign along the shores of Lake Huron. As part of Point Clark Lighthouse National Historic Site of Canada, the building now houses a small museum operated by the Township of Huron.

Architectural Value

The Keeper's House is valued for its good aesthetic design, which is similar to other Imperial lighthouse dwellings. Its proportion and symmetry suggest the influence of British classicism, also seen in 18th- or early 19th-century stone cottages in Scotland. The building’s very good craftsmanship and materials is evidenced in its rock-faced stone walls that are set in even courses.

Environmental Value

The Keeper's House is compatible with the present character of its historic lightstation setting at Point Clark Lighthouse National Historic Site of Canada. The house is familiar within the area.

Sources: Joan Mattie, Lighthouse and Keeper’s Dwelling, Point Clark National Historic Site, Point Clark, Ontario, Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office, Building Report, 93-084; Lightkeeper’s Dwelling, Point Clark, Ontario, Heritage Character Statement, 93-084.

The following character-defining elements of the Keeper's House should be respected.

Its good aesthetic and functional design and very good materials and craftsmanship, for example:

-the massing and symmetry of the rectangular structure;

-the gable-roof with projecting end chimneys;

-the three-bay façade arrangement;

-the rock-faced stone walls set in even courses;

-the surviving significant features of the interior such as the fireplace and the boxed stairway.

The manner in which the Keeper's House is compatible with the present character historic light station setting and is a familiar building within the area, as evidenced by:

-its scale, design and materials, which are compatible with its surrounding building at Point Clark Lighthouse National Historic Site of Canada;

-its role as a museum at a national historic site of Canada, which makes it familiar.