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New London, founded in 1646
by John Winthrop, Jr., became an important port in colonial America
because of its protected harbor at the mouth of the Thames River.
In 1834, over 30 ships and 900 men from New London were employed
in whaling. By the middle of the 1800s, New London was America's
third leading whaling port, behind New Bedford and Nantucket.
An early beacon of some kind was reportedly erected around
1750 at the harbor's entrance, but it soon became apparent that
a more permanent lighthouse was needed.
A 64-foot stone tower with a wooden lantern was erected at
the west side of the harbor entrance in 1761, paid for by money
raised by selling lottery tickets.
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- Robert Dennis Collection of Stereoscopic
Views, Photography Collection, Miriam & Ira D. Wallach Division
of Art, Prints & Photographs, The New York Public Library.
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New London Harbor Light was the fourth lighthouse in North
America and the first on Long Island Sound. A tax on local shipping
helped pay for the upkeep of the tower.
The lighthouse made it through the American Revolution unscathed,
helping to guide American privateers into New London Harbor.
In 1791, President George Washington signed legislation authorizing
the expenditure of $360 quarterly to supply New London Harbor
Light's six lamps with spermaceti oil.
The lighthouse developed a large crack by 1799, and there
were numerous complaints that the light was difficult to distinguish
from neighboring homes.
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In 1801 a new 89-foot stone lighthouse with a cast-iron lantern
was completed by Abisha Woodward of New London, along with an
oil house and cistern building at a total cost of $15,547. The
handsome octagonal brownstone tower still stands and is the oldest
existing lighthouse in Connecticut.
An 1802 letter recommended that the salary of the keeper be
raised from $200 yearly, at which it had remained for many years,
because, "the Lighthouse has been made much higher, the
light augmented, the machinery of the eclipser to be kept in
order..."
New London Harbor Light was one of the earliest American lighthouses
with a flashing light. The revolving eclipser gave it a distinct
characteristic so it couldn't be confused with the lights of
nearby houses.
New London Harbor Light was extinguished during the War of
1812 at the request of Commodore Decatur. With the militia nearby
the British decided not to raid the lighthouse, but they did
raid Little Gull Island Light farther out in Fishers Island Sound.
A new keeper's dwelling was built in 1818 for $1,200. The
present keeper's house was built in 1863 and was enlarged in
1900.
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An 1838 report by Lieutenant George M. Bache described New
London Harbor Light:
It is situated on a rocky point to the westward of the
entrance to the river Thames, and is two miles from the town
of New London; it is of great importance as a leading light for
vessels going in and out of the harbor of New London, which,
on account of its position and security, is much resorted to
during the heavy gales of winter.
The tower is a substantial building of freestone, smooth
hammered, and laid in courses; it is 80 feet in height, and is
ascended by an interior stairway of wood... The lighting
apparatus consists of 11 lamps, with parabolic reflectors, disposed
around two horizontal tables... This apparatus was furnished
in 1834, and is now in very good order... The light-keeper covers
the ordinary wicks with small pieces of cotton cloth, which he
thinks increases the consumption of oil, and causes the lamps
to give a brighter light.
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- U.S. Coast Guard
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The lighthouse's lamps and reflectors were replaced by a fourth
order Fresnel lens in 1857, and the lens remains in use today.
Many experiments with fog signals were carried out at New
London Harbor Light. A second-class Daboll trumpet was installed
in 1874, operated by a hot-air engine.
In 1883 a new first-class fog signal was installed, and in
1896 new engines and air compressors were added.
In 1904 a new fog siren provoked complaints from the local
summer residents. One man exclaimed, "How about that horrible
shrieking and groaning siren that has been stuck up on top of
the lighthouse here? Unless something is done pretty soon, this
will be the best field of practice for a specialist of nervous
disease that I know of."
The mayor of New London was among 75 citizens who signed a
petition for the removal of the signal. A compromise was reached
when a less objectionable trumpet replaced the siren. In 1911
the fog signal was relocated to the New London Ledge Light.
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A 1904 article by Arthur Hewitt described a visit of the lighthouse
tender Larkspur to New London Harbor Light while the fog
signal was still located there:
The keeper [Charles B. Field], a Swede, was a very
intelligent man; curious to relate, he was a connoisseur in violins,
about which he told me a great deal and tried to tell me more;
but I wanted to know of other things -- the sea and ships.
When we were in the tower talking of fog, he told me how
one night, when he was operating the horn, and 'the fog was so
thick yer could have cut it with a knife and it fairly stuck
in yer throat,' suddenly the sound seemed to strike something
and reverberate with a strange echo against the lighthouse. Instinct
told him that this was caused by the sails of some ship quite
near by and in immediate danger of running on the rocks. He shouted
a warning to the invisible ship, and between the blasts of the
horn surely enough there came back an answer. He had altered
the vessel's course just in time.
In 1912, the incandescent oil vapor lamp was replaced by an
automatic acetylene beacon. The keepers were removed and the
property was sold at auction. The property had been divided into
two parcels by the construction of Peqout Avenue in the 1860s,
and it was sold as two separate properties, one on each side
of the street.
- The entrance to the tower
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- The iron stairs in the tower
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- A view from the top
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New London Harbor Light can be seen from Pequot Avenue, but
the grounds are not open to the public.
Excellent views can be obtained from many of the vessels leaving
New London, including ferries to Fishers Island, Block Island,
and Montauk, Long Island.
Venerable New London Harbor Light remains an active aid to
navigation, with a fixed white light and a red sector warning
mariners away from dangerous Sarah Ledge.
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- In April 2005, it was announced that ownership of the lighthouse
would be transferred to the New
London Maritime Society under the provisions of the National
Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. The society also
operates the Custom House Maritime Museum, and promotes the maritime
history of New London through its collections, library, archives,
museum exhibits, and educational programs.
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- You can read much more about this lighthouse in the book
The Lighthouses
of Connecticut by Jeremy D'Entremont.
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Keepers: Nathaniel Shaw (c. 1761- at least 1771);
Jedediah Huntington (c. 1791); Griswold Harris (1814-at least
1816), John G. Munn (c. 1837); John Mason (1841-1844); Nathan
Buddington (1844-1845); ? Comstock (?) (1845-1850); John Mason
(1850-1853); Lyman Reed (1853-1859), Elijah Bolles (1859-1868);
Philip M. Ross (1868-1869); Charles A. Bunnell (1869-1889); Charles
A. Bunnell, Jr. (assistant 1872-1890); Henry A. Whaley (1889);
Charles B. Field (1889-c.1908); Christopher Culver, Jr. (assistant,
c.1890-1892?); James A. Hobron (c. 1892-?); George L. Potter
(assistant 1890-1895); Joseph D. Burke (assistant 1895-1899),
Elmer J. Rathbun (assistant 1899-?)
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