Built in 1948 to replace the original fog alarm building, which was destroyed by fire, the Cove Island fog alarm plant is the last complete diaphone apparatus remaining on the Great Lakes and one of only a handful left in Canada
The diaphone which has faithfully warned mariners with its distinctive ‘grunt’ maintains a silent vigil northward over the water. Inside the building standing from floor to ceiling, two huge silver painted tanks that were once filled with compressed air to operate the diaphone, wait patiently. Two Lister diesel engines also remain silent in the immaculately kept building waiting for their instructions.
In inclement weather, the fog alarm at the Cove Island Lightstation was always there for mariners as a symbol of security. The Fog Alarm is a witness to our past and a visible connection to our roots and our long forgotten marine history.
