Cape Spear has provided a beacon in the darkness to passing ships for the past 168 years. In fact, it’s home to Newfoundland’s oldest surviving lighthouse. On September 1, 1836, the light was sparked for the first time. Shipped from Scotland, the light consisted of seven reflectors and seven lamps that burned sperm whale oil. It was placed in the tower located in the middle of the two-storey house of Emanuel Warr, the first lighthouse keeper. During WWII the site was used by Allied forces to guard the entrance of St. John’s Harbour. Two 10-inch guns, which are still there today, were positioned on the Cape in the 1940s in concrete bunkers that connected to underground tunnels leading to the men’s barracks. A new lighthouse was built in 1955, but the original structure still remains. Now restored, the old lighthouse gives tourists an idea of what life was like for lighthouse keepers in the 1840s. Cape Spear has been a National Historic Site since 1962.   Submitted By: DH Editorial