To circumvent several sets of rapids along the Ottawa River, a series of canals were built during the nineteenth century, and shortly thereafter, the Ottawa River was bustling with steamboats providing passenger and mail service, bringing farmers to market, and towing lumber barges downstream. For a period of time, it was possible to travel from Montreal all the way to Mattawa, Ontario using a series of steamboats.

The first lighthouse to mark the Ottawa River was built in 1860. More lighthouses were added in the 1870s and 1880s, and finally, the last of the river lighthouses was built in the ten years preceding World War I. At the height of river traffic, there were around thirty lighthouses dotting the Ottawa River between Deep River, Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. Today, only six remain, with Sand Point being the only one easily accessible to the public by land.

Built in 1909, the white square pyramidal wooden tower is quite typical of the lighthouses which once graced the river. Sand Point Lighthouse is topped by a green lantern room, stands 6.7 metres (twenty-two feet) tall, and has a focal plane of seven metres (twenty-three feet).

Desiring to see the lighthouse preserved, the Arnprior Historical Society applied for ownership of the tower in September, 2011.

References

1. Information from Michel Forand.