Prior to the lighthouse, an unlit day beacon was constructed to mark the spot of a dangerous reef near the center of the relatively shallow Mount Hope Bay. In June 1880, $25,000 was appropriated for the construction of a new lighthouse on Borden Flats, which consisted of a cast-iron tower that included a keeper's quarters. The light went into service on October 1, 1881, with a fourth-order Fresnel lens producing a fixed red light above mean high water. Rainwater was collected in gutters and stored in a cistern in the structure's basement level, providing the keeper's water supply.
