Hampton Lighthouse beckons visitors

By Heather Killen

Spectator

NovaNewsNow,com

The Hampton Lighthouse is now beckoning visitors to visit the past.

This is the first summer the landmark has been open to the public. Each weekend this summer, volunteers opened the doors to the community’s rich history.

Built in 1911, it was purchased by the Hampton Lighthouse Society in 2001 for $1, according to volunteer Joan James. The lighthouse was designated as provincial heritage site last year.

James said the society has now shifted its focus and is using the heritage site to promote a broader history of the Hampton community. It’s now serving to showcase histories and photos of the area. “Janetta Dexter, a local historian and genealogist, has compiled a history of ships and seamen,” she added. Her book and others are on display.

Aside from being a rich shipbuilding and fishing center, Hampton was once a booming trading spot for local farmers and the New Brunswick marketplace.

But the area is also rich with storytellers and colourful characters. A 1927 excerpt from the Bridgetown Monitor, chronicles a narrow escape that was predicted by a local fortuneteller.

Malcolm Healy, who set sail in a small sailboat from the Hampton Wharf, was caught in a gale and blown across the Bay to New Brunswick.

Longtime resident Joe Graves later remembered how Healy had been working on the road when a powerful storm gathered.

Healy wanted to get home to dinner, so he ignored warnings that the south gale was too strong, according to Graves.

He set off with a makeshift sail consisting of feedbags sewn together, and used an oar as his rudder. Graves remembered watching Healy in the distance as he fought to stay abreast of the waves.

When he failed to arrive home, his family asked the Coast Guard to dispatch a search for him, but they refused. After a few days, his family feared the worst.

His brother visited a fortune-teller west of Hampton, who told him that Malcolm Healy was still alive. In fact, Healy had ended up in Salmon River where he had taken a job in the lumberyard.

He worked there until he could pay for a telegram to send to his family back in St. Croix Cove. When the telegraph operator visited Healy’s mother to give her the good news, she was clearing out the front room for his funeral.

Healy has since passed away, but his son Terry, still fishes out of the Hampton Wharf. As well, many of the original keepers of the Hampton Lighthouse are able to offer their own tales of Hampton.

The Hampton Lighthouse will be open to visitors this weekend, September 6 and 7, from 1 until 4 p.m.; and again on September 13 and 14.

An official ceremony will be scheduled later this year to mark the plaque dedication. For more information on the Hampton Lighthouse visit http://www.nslps.com/