The Stonington Harbor Light is a historic
lighthouse built in 1840 and located on the east side of Stonington Harbor in the Borough of
Stonington,
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 a well-preserved example of a mid-19th century stone lighthouse. The light was taken out of service in 1889 and now serves as a local history museum. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1976.
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Description and history
The Stonington Harbor Light is located at the southern end of Stonington Point, marking the eastern side of Stonington Harbor. The light station consists of the tower and keeper's house; both are built out of large granite blocks, and the keeper's house has a wood-framed ell attached. The tower is an octagonal stone structure in height and in diameter, with a circular glass lantern house on top. The house is 1½ stories and about square.[
In the 1880s, the Stonington Breakwater Light was constructed farther out in the harbor, and the Stonington Harbor Light was decommissioned in 1889. The site is now the home of the Stonington Historical Society which uses the building as The Old Lighthouse Museum. Holdings in the museum document the area's long and distinguished cultural and nautical history, and exhibits include the 1856 ]Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships."
The design allows the c ...
.
Head keepers
* Neil Martin 1882
* Nahor Jones 1882 – 1886
* Samuel C. Gardiner 1886
* John Ryle 1886 – 1887
* Samuel A. Keeney 1887 – 1903
* Maurice Russell 1903 – 1904
* Adolph Obman 1904 – 1907
* John J. Cook 1907 – 1909
* William Janse 1909
* Adolph Obman 1909 – 1911
* Robert R. Laurier 1911 – 1912
* John H. Paul 1912
* Joseph Meyer 1913
* Charles R. Riley 1915 – 1916
* Edward Grime 1917 – 1919
* George Washington Denton, Jr. 1919
* Edward Murphy 1919 - 1920
* Edward Iten 1921 – 1927
* Edward M. Whitford 1929
* Robert M. Fitton 1930
* Raymond F. Bliven 1930 – 1931
* Martin Luther Sowle 1938 – 1953Lighthouse Friends
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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
* Crompton, Samuel Willard. "The Lighthouse Book." Barnes and Noble Books, New York, 1999. .
External links
lighthouse.cc: Stonington Harbor Light Light
lighthousefriends.com: Inventory of Historic Light Stations
Old Lighthouse Museum
- Stonington Historical Society
{{authority control
Stonington, Connecticut
Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
Long Island Sound
Lighthouses in New London County, Connecticut
Museums in New London County, Connecticut
History museums in Connecticut
Lighthouse museums in the United States
Lighthouses completed in 1824
Lighthouses completed in 1840
Maritime museums in Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in New London County, Connecticut