Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse is a
sparkplug lighthouse
A caisson lighthouse (also referred to as a sparkplug lighthouse, or bug light) is a type of lighthouse whose superstructure rests on a concrete or metal caisson. Caisson lighthouses were developed in the late nineteenth century as a cheaper alter ...
in
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
,
United States, at Fenwick Point at the mouth of the
Connecticut River near
Old Saybrook
Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,481 at the 2020 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, as well as the census-designated places of Old Saybrook Center and Saybroo ...
,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
. It is featured
[Associated Press news article, titled "Old Saybrook lighthouse for sale for $1" in '' The Advocate'' of Stamford, Connecticut, August 7, 2007, page A4] on the state's "Preserve the Sound" license plates.
"That outer lighthouse is the symbol of Old Saybrook," town First Selectman Michael Pace said in 2007, when the town was making plans to buy the lighthouse from the federal government.
[
The lighthouse is also known simply as "Breakwater Light" or "Outer Light". It is one of two built off Lynde Point in the nineteenth century. The other lighthouse, known as ]Lynde Point Light
The Lynde Point Light or Lynde Point Lighthouse, also known as Saybrook Inner Lighthouse, is a lighthouse in Connecticut, United States, on the west side of the mouth of the Connecticut River on the Long Island Sound, Old Saybrook, Connecticu ...
or more commonly as "Inner Light", is 75 years older than this lighthouse. The two lighthouses mark the harbor channel at the mouth of the Connecticut River.[
]
History
The lighthouse has been in service since 1886.[
In 2007, the federal government announced it would sell the lighthouse as part of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Program, which was created to transfer responsibility for maintenance of lighthouses to municipal governments or private entities. The Old Saybrook town government expressed an interest in the lighthouse, which is not expected to be transferred from the federal government until sometime in 2008 or 2009. The National Park Service will screen potential owners. The Coast Guard would continue to maintain the light while the new owners maintain the historic structure. The Coast Guard also owns the land on which the lighthouse sits, and transferring the land is not part of the preservation program.][ As of January 14, 2014, the Minio family are the new private owners of the Old Saybrook Point Lighthouse. Joseph C. Minio, Sr. and Dr. Christopher M. Minio are co-Lighthouse owners and keepers.
]
Head keepers
* Frank W. Paumlee (1886 – 1890)
* John G. Shipworth (1890 – 1896)
* George W. Fife (1896 – 1897)
* Robert A. Bishop (1897 – 1898)
* Nathaniel Dodge (1898)
* Thomas Burke (1898 – 1899)
* John Dahlman (1899 – 1907)
* Herbert S. Knowles (1907 – 1911)
* Simon Sfvorinich (1911 – 1912)
* Joseph F. Woods (1912 – at least 1917)
* John A. Davis (at least 1919 – 1920)
* Paul G. Peterson (1920 – at least 1921)
* Elwood L. Butler (at least 1923)
* Andrew A. McLintock (1932 – 1935)
* Sidney Z. Gross (at least 1938 – 1940)
* Roger H. Green (1940 – 1943)
* Thomas A. Buckridge (1943 – 1944)
* George E. Sheffield (1948 – 1953)
See also
* List of lighthouses in Connecticut
The U.S. state of Connecticut has fourteen active lighthouses in the state, two of which are maintained as private aids; six are standing but inactive. Another was destroyed after its deactivation. The earliest lighthouse in the state was erected ...
* List of lighthouses in the United States
This is a list of lighthouses in the United States. The United States has had approximately a thousand lights as well as light towers, range lights, and pier head lights. Michigan has the most lights of any state with over 150 past and present l ...
*
References
*
External links
Lighthouses completed in 1886
Old Saybrook, Connecticut
Long Island Sound
Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
Tourist attractions in Middlesex County, Connecticut
Transportation buildings and structures in Middlesex County, Connecticut
Historic American Engineering Record in Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, Connecticut
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