Island Overview
Henry Island sits 20 minutes by boat from Port Hood, Nova Scotia. The 90-hectare property hosts a four-bedroom family house and a fully functioning lighthouse that was installed in 1901. The island is powered entirely off-grid, using rainwater for drinking, solar panels for electricity and an outhouse for waste.
The Bakers’ Connection
William F. Baker, 84, and his wife Jeannemarie Gelin-Baker, 82, bought the island in 1991 after Baker’s 20-year tenure as president of PBS’s flagship New York station and his earlier role at Westinghouse Television. The couple have used Henry Island as a yearly retreat since 1991, renovating the home and lighthouse with local help and writing a book, Lighthouse Island: Our Family Escape, about their experience.
Selling the Island
The couple have listed the island for nearly $7 million CAD, a price that has attracted interest from Ontario, the U.S. and Germany. Baker, who will turn 85 soon, says the maintenance demands of a remote island have become too great for him and his children. He is looking for a buyer who will keep the island “as untouched as possible” and prevent it from “rotting.”
Potential Buyers
Sotheby’s International Realty Canada agent Angie Bryant notes that island sales have become a popular niche, citing recent sales off the coast of Mahone Bay. The listing will continue to appear on the Sotheby’s website and in lighthouse-preservation magazines to attract buyers who value the historic beacon and the island’s pristine environment.
The Bakers have invited local residents, including Donald MacDonald of the Henry Island Lighthouse Preservation Society, to visit. MacDonald, who has become a regular visitor, emphasizes the island’s quiet appeal and the community’s love for the lighthouse.
The sale remains on the market, with the Bakers hoping to find a steward who will honor the island’s natural beauty and historic lighthouse.
