Ferry service between Borden on Prince Edward Island and Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick began in 1917, with the SS Prince Edward Island transporting railway cars across Northumberland Strait. The first automobile arrived on the island in 1904, but the new contraption was not warmly received. Automobiles were actually banned from public roads in 1908, when just nine cars were on the island, as they were considered dangerous to passengers riding in horse carriages. This restriction on automobiles was lifted in 1919, and a few years later the Prince Edward Island was modified to carry automobiles in addition to railcars.

The Port Borden Range Lights were established in 1918 to guide the ferry into the port at Borden. The present Port Borden Pier Lighthouse, a hexagonal tower with a height of 8.5 metres (28 feet), was placed at the outer end of the ferry pier in 1976.

The opening of the Confederation Bridge in 1997 ended eighty years of ferry service to Port Borden. Though the range lights were decommissioned, the Port Borden Pier Lighthouse remains active, exhibiting an isophase green light with a period of four seconds.

With the construction of the Confederation Bridge underway, the town of Borden merged with the farming community of Carleton on April 12, 1995 to form Borden-Carleton. To offset the impact of the loss of ferry jobs and the departure of workers employed in construction of the bridge, the federal government provided “Fixed Link Adjustment Funds” to the village that were used to develop “Gateway Village,” a tourist shopping complex situated near the foot of the bridge on the grounds of the former railway yard.

The Town of Borden-Carleton applied for ownership of the lighthouse under the Parks Canada Heritage Lighthouse Program.

Exit Highway 1 in Borden-Carleton at Gateway Village and follow Borden Avenue south to Marine/Rail Historic Park. You can view Port Borden Pier Lighthouse from the park. The pier is marked private, but we noticed several people fishing on it, so we made our way out to get a close shot of the lighthouse.

The lighthouse is owned by the Canadian Coast Guard. Grounds/tower closed.

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