Lac Deschênes is a forty-four-kilometre-long section of the Ottawa River that runs from Chats Falls Dam near Fitzroy Harbour in the west to Deschênes Rapids at Britannia in the east. This section of the river is a little over 3.2 kilometres wide at its widest point and little more than a few hundred metres at its narrowest. The provincial border between Ontario and Quebec runs through the length of the lake.

In 1883, the Department of Marine established a light on Aylmer Island, Baskins Wharf, and Buckom’s Point on Lac Deschênes along with three other places along the Upper Ottawa River as noted in the department’s annual report for that year:

Six new lighthouses on the Upper Ottawa River, at the following points, via.:— At Aylmer Island, in Lake des Chenes; Baskin’s Wharf, Lake des Chenes, about 12 miles above Aylmer; Buckom’s Point, in the same Lake, about 16 miles farther up the Ottawa; Morrison’s Island or Hawley’s Island, about 3 miles below Pembroke, and McQuestion’s Point, on the south shore of the Deep River, about 25 miles above Pembroke. In each case a fixed white light is shown from a small dioptric lantern, hoisted to the top of a mast, having a small shed at its base.

Godfrey Ouellette was appointed the first keeper of Buckom’s Point Lighthouse in February 1884, and he served through the 1912 season. A. Ouellette assumed responsibility for the light in early 1913 and served through at least 1923.

Fifteen kilometres downstream from Chats Falls Dam, a peninsula is located along the western shore of Ottawa River. Buckham’s Bay, a long, narrow bay that is two kilometres long and only 250 metres wide, is situated between this peninsula and the mainland, while Constance Bay is located on the eastern side of the peninsula. Buckom’s (Buckham’s) Point is located on the eastern side of the entrance to Buckham’s Bay.

In 1889, a pier was built about 150 metres offshore from Buckom’s Point, and an enclosed square, wooden tower that stood twenty-five feet tall was placed on the pier. Buckom’s Point Light served to mark the low point and the shoals off of it. A dioptric lens in the lantern room of the tower produced a fixed white light.

There is no longer a navigational light at this location.

Keepers: Godfrey Ouellette (1884 – 1912), A. Ouellette (1913 – at least 1923).

References

1. Annual Report of the Department of Marine, various years.

No light exists at this location today.

Find the closest hotels to Buckom’s Point (Buckham’s Point) Lighthouse