Peggy's Cove Lighthouse, at the eastern entrance to St.
Margaret's Bay, is the most photographed lighthouse in the world, standing on a huge granite outcropping surrounded by unpredictable seas.
Indeed, several visitors a year are swept away by the vicious waves and quite a few tourists have met their end at the mercy of the waters.
The first lighthouse in the cove was built in 1868, a wooden structure atop a caretaker's house.
It was replaced in 1914 by the familiar structure that is so famous today, an eight sided traditional shape that's fifty feet high.
The original tower was finally destroyed in 1954 by Hurricane Edna after years of disuse.
Peggy's Cove Lighthouse sits just outside the small fishing village of the same name.
Despite the extensive traffic the area attracts, the 120 people who live in Peggy's Cove have maintained the relaxed atmosphere we usually associate with a traditional fishing community.
There is a small core of sixty year-round villagers that make their living fishing for lobster.
Automated in 1958, the lighthouse's red light was changed to white and then finally to green in the 1970's.
It's the only lighthouse in North America that has its own post office on the premises, cancelling each item mailed with the image of the lighthouse.
The gift shop has postcards for sale, of course! There has been some damage to the lighthouse over the years, most notably by Hurricane Juan in 2003.
During that particular storm, the foundation under the gift shop was damaged and the water was powerful enough to move 300-500 pound boulders!The village sustained substantial damage during that hurricane from the waves that came tearing along the rocks and over the walls to flood the streets.
The area was originally settled by immigrants from Scotland and you can often hear the soft strains of bagpipes during your visit or even see a piper standing on the lighthouse's outcropping-well away from the treacherous waves, of course!The area is so popular that the locals advice people to make their visits during the early morning or evening hours in order to avoid the tour buses.
It's said that the granite outcropping upon which the lighthouse sits is as fascinating as the building itself.
One tourist estimated that at least fifty rolls of film were used during his tour's hour there.
That's not surprising, considering the beauty of the area and the majestic waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
Peggy's Cove has other attractions, too; the most notable is the 100 foot mural carved in granite by the Finnish artist William deGarthe when he was seventy years of age.
It depicts 32 fishermen and their families, watched over by St.
Elmo.
There is also an elegant memorial to the victims of SwissAir flight 1111 that crashed near the cove in 1998.
No one is really sure how the cove came by its name.
Some say it's named for St.
Margaret's Bay but most people prefer the more sensational story of a shipwreck survivor.
Shortly after the cove was settled in 1811, a schooner ran aground and the only survivor was a young girl of 15 who managed to swim ashore.
The townspeople adopted her and named her Margaret as she could remember neither her own name or anything about her life before the shipwreck.
There is even a series of historical fiction books about her that are popular with young readers in Canada.
Peggy's ghost is rumored to wander the area around the lighthouse occasionally.