Residents band together to save century-old Muskoka landmark

Residents are taking up the cause to protect the Rosseau Lighthouse.

A century-old landmark will be saved in Muskoka, by essentially buying it from the federal government.

The Village of Rosseau is a popular Muskoka vacation destination, and its landmark stands about 150 meters off shore. It bears the name of lake it has helped keep safe for more than a century: the Rosseau Lighthouse.

“Well it was built in 1890 by a gentleman named William Ditchburn who had a boat livery business,” says Seguin Township Coun. Jack Hepworth.

The federal government owns the lighthouse and recently declared it a surplus, meaning it was expendable, which worried some local residents and township officials.

“It probably would be replaced by a pole and a light so we'd lose all that heritage, all that beauty and all that architecture,” Hepworth says.

So with the help of the Lake Rosseau North Association and town officials, residents raised more than $25,000 to effectively buy the lighthouse from the federal government. The feds will still be responsible for supplying a working light for the landmark, but the maintenance of the building will now be the township’s responsibility.

“It's going to look better, it's going to be amazing,” says Kelly Krist. “We have some work to do on it to keep it up. We'll make sure it's always painted and looking beautiful.”

And Mayor David Conn says local residents won't have to worry about being charged a large amount of tax money to keep the iconic building in good shape.

“It will always be maintained if not through generous donations by our rate payers, it will be maintained by our council funds at all times,” Conn says.

Although you can't see the lighthouse from the Rosseau waterfront, it's just behind a copse of trees. The Lake Rosseau North Association and Seguin Township officials say this area is the next important area in the ownership of the lighthouse because it's on the waterfront next summer that the big party will take place, celebrating the ‘official’ ownership takeover.