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Main Duck Island, roughly ten miles east of Prince Edward Point, is an
important point along shipping lanes to and from the St.
Lawrence River. A 70-foot lighthouse was built at the west
end of the island in 1913. The station houses a third-order
Fresnel lens visible for 16 miles.
Cement retaining walls were built around the station to
protect it from erosion. The station still serves as an
active aid to navigation.
On November 16th, 1920, the steamer John Randall,
captained by Henry Randall, sailed with 250 tons of coal from
Oswego, New York to Belleville, Ontario. That night, the
vessel encountered a storm on Lake Ontario, and began to take
on water. The ship and crew found its way to Main Duck
Island, where the vessel was lost. Captain Randall and his
four crewmen swam the remaining half-mile, where they were
met by Main Duck Island lighthouse keeper Fred Bougard. The
crew was kept warm and dry at the lighthouse for a week until
the storm finally subsided. Unfortunately, there was no way
to communicate to the mainland the presence of the crew of
the John Randall - the ship was presumed lost when
it did not arrive in Belleville on the 17th. It was not
until Wednesday, November 24th that the crew was able to
make their way to Picton, Ontario to tell what had occurred.
Sadly, exactly one year later, Captain Randall was not so
fortunate. His new vessel, the City of New York,
was lost in a storm with all hands, including his wife and
two children.
Great Lakes Lighthouses - American and Canadian, Oleszewski pp. 33-38
Eastern Great Lakes Lighthouses - Ontario, Erie, and Huron, Roberts, Jones p. 67
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