In the 19th and early 20th centuries, there were several lighthouses in the navigable waterway consisting of the lower Annapolis River and the Annapolis Basin: from Troop Point, near Granville Ferry, to Annapolis Royal, Shafner Point (as it was spelled at the time), and from Port Wade and Bear River to Digby Pier and Victoria Beach.

Some of these lighthouses have disappeared (Troop Point, Port Wade) but others, including the Schafner Point Lighthouse, have survived to this day.

Schafner Point is a few kilometers west of Port Royal on the north side of the waterway where the Annapolis Basin narrows to become the Annapolis River. The lighthouse was established in 1885 to help vessels navigate the Annapolis River and avoid the shoals near Goat Island, directly facing the point.