This one-of-a-kind building was one of the last lighthouses built in New England, and it represents a rare case of an early 20th century offshore lighthouse that is not of cast-iron construction. The stately red brick building with its mansard roof and granite detailing makes a striking picture standing off by itself near the entrance to Connecticut's New London Harbor, at the extreme eastern end of Long Island Sound.

The lighthouse reportedly owes its distinctive French Second Empire style to the influence of the wealthy home owners on the local coast, who wanted a structure in keeping with the elegance of their own homes. Many of the large homes near the shore in the area were destroyed in the great hurricane of September 21, 1938.

By the early 1900s, New London, with its protected harbor at the mouth of the Thames River, had made the transition from whaling center to industrial city. New London Ledge Light was built because New London Harbor Light wasn't sufficient to direct vessels around the dangerous ledges at the entrance to the harbor.

U.S. Coast Guard photo

Lobbying for the lighthouse began in 1890. In 1903 the Lighthouse Board made this recommendation:

The necessity for establishing a light and an efficient fog signal in such a position as to enable vessels to enter and leave the harbor of New London, Conn., has become evident, and especially so for the aid of those approaching from seaward.

The numerous outlying shoals and ledges surrounding the entrance to this harbor make the approach to it dangerous in thick weather. ... In view of these facts... it is suggested that a light and fog signal station be established...

When it was first lighted, the New London Day reported that the light could be seen up to 18 miles away. The characteristic was three white flashes followed by a red flash every 30 seconds. A fog signal was added in 1911, replacing the one at New London Harbor Light.

Howard B. Beebe was keeper during the hurricane of September 21,1938. He was in the lighthouse with a second assistant keeper and a tinsmith. Beebe's family was on shore at the time the gale struck. "It washed out everything," Keeper Beebe later told the Providence Journal:

About 3:15, the engines conked out, but the light was going. We moved to the lantern. It was a three-story building. Waves were coming through the second floor. I've seen waves before, in the Bay of Fundy, but I never saw them like that. There was 11 tons of coal in the cellar, and it boiled it all out.

Coast Guard crews lived at the lighthouse from 1939 until its automation in 1987. The crew worked in three man shifts, spending up to three weeks at the lighthouse followed by six days on shore. Somebody once explained why there were three men at the lighthouse at one time -- if two men had a fight, there would be a third to break it up. The Coast Guardsmen spent much of their time fishing and working out in the small gym in the lighthouse.

According to Elinor De Wire, author of the book Guardians of the Lights, they were occasionally driven to distraction by the smells wafting from the mainland -- freshly mown lawns and barbecues -- as well as by the sight, viewable by binoculars, of young women on a nearby beach.

New London Ledge Light was generally considered undesirable duty, but some enjoyed the solitude and beauty of the place. Petty Officer 1st Class Timothy Grant, a Maine native, told the New York Times in 1984, "After a week ashore, I can't wait to get back here."

He knew it wasn't for everybody, adding, "This might be an ideal place for a loner, but it would drive whoever lives with him up a wall."

Seaman Don Place put it simply, "You get a lot of time to think."

But there does seem to be unexplainable activity at the lighthouse. Doors have been known to open and close mysteriously, decks have swabbed themselves, televisions have turned themselves off, and the fog horn seems to turn on and off for no reason. Securely tied boats have mysteriously been set adrift.

In 1987, New London Ledge Light became the last lighthouse on Long Island Sound to be automated. On the last day before automation, a Coast Guardsman entered in the log:

Rock of slow torture. Ernie's domain. Hell on earth -- may New London Ledge's light shine on forever because I'm through. I will watch it from afar while drinking a brew.

Views of both sides of the Fresnel lens on display in the Custom House Museum of Maritime History in New London. The lens produced a sequence of three white flashes and one red flash.

The fourth order Fresnel lens once in the lighthouse is now at Custom House Museum of Maritime History in New London. There is now a VRB-25 optic in use in the lighthouse.

Solar panels were added in 1998, providing power for the light and fog signal. The rest of the electricity is provided by a cable from Avery Point.

Today the lighthouse is leased to the New London Ledge Lighthouse Foundation. This group, with the help of grants and private contributions, has done some restoration of the building's interior. The plan is to eventually turn the building into a combination museum and bed and breakfast.

You can see the lighthouse fairly distantly from the shore of New London, especially in the Pequot Avenue area, and you can get a good view from the Fisher's Island and Block Island ferries leaving New London.

In the summer months Project Oceanology in Groton runs tours of the lighthouse. You can also contact the New London Ledge Lighthouse Foundation (a chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation) for more information:

New London Ledge Lighthouse Foundation
P.O. Box 855
New London, Connecticut 06320