The cannon from the museum’s collection was originally located on Cape Mayachny near the Petropavlovsk Lighthouse. It was intended for signaling, for example, the approach of unidentified ships or enemy ships to the mouth of the bay. It was also used to give “fog” signals in case of poor visibility.

In the early 20th century, the cannon was mounted on a wheel-free wooden carriage with a vertical wedge-type breech mechanism. The carriage was placed on a wooden platform, which served as a recoil compensator during firing. There was a signal bell and a guard booth nearby.

The cannon was loaded from the muzzle. The plate, i.e. the rear cut of the breech block, ended with a vingrad, which was used to wind the ropes when the cannon was raised. It reinforced the bottom of the barrel channel against the action of gas pressure forces when the cannon was fired. An ignition port was built on the breech block. The body of the breech block was conical.

The Petropavlovsk Lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse in the Far East. The very first mention of a signal light on the cape dates back to 1740. On the plan of Avacha Bay in 1741 the lighthouse was already marked with a drawing in the form of a tower. The first lighthouse was a log cabin with windows facing the sea. At nightfall, the wood, covered with grease, was burned in the log cabin, thus indicating to mariners the location of the entrance to Avacha Bay.

However, the date of founding the Petropavlovsk Lighthouse is believed to be July 1, 1850. It was then that a new building was erected. During its history the lighthouse was improved several times. At the end of the 19th century the place of the main optical instrument was taken by a device with a Fresnel lens. It was made by the French firm Barbier in 1894.

The Tsarist government fully paid for the creation of the apparatus. It cost almost a million rubles. The transportation took about a year. When the equipment arrived, the local authorities were confronted with the problem of how to get the sections to the cape. The waterway was not an option. It was decided to lay a railroad, on which the carriage with the device was pulled by a horse. On June 1, 1897 a new lighthouse building was constructed.